DETROIT LAKES — The Lakes Trail Blazers Saddle Club is hosting a unique fundraising event this Saturday, April 9 at Zion Lutheran Church in Detroit Lakes. Two competitive sessions will be held, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., with awards going to the top three fastest teams in each session.
Teams of up to four people will compete to be the fastest to finish a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. There will be a different puzzle for each session, but all of the teams within each session will start with the same puzzle, explained organizer LeAnn Vetter.
The puzzles will be kept under wraps until the competition starts. Each team will have up to two hours to complete the puzzle.
"The teams can use the (picture on the) box as a guide, but that's the only aid they will have," Vetter said.
Even that tool will come with a bit of an added challenge, however: "The puzzles are made by a company called Puzzle Twist," Vetter said. "The 'twist' is that the picture on the box isn't exactly the same as on the puzzle."
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Cost to participate is $40 per team, with proceeds to benefit the saddle club.
"The Lakes Trail Blazers Saddle Club is a family friendly club that puts on four horse shows during the summer in Detroit Lakes," Vetter said, adding, "Our shows are for all ages and riding abilities."
A jigsaw puzzle aficionado since she was young, Vetter said it's long been a dream of hers to host a competitive puzzle-solving event as a fundraiser for the club. So when she and her fellow Trail Blazers heard about a puzzle competition being held in Fargo last year, they decided to sign up as a team and take part.
"We went to try one out, see how it was run and find out if it was something we could do here," she said. "It looked like it was pretty simple to organize, and it has been."
Vetter said this inaugural competition is limited to nine teams per session, or 18 teams total.
"We still have openings for seven teams, as of today (Monday, April 4)," she said.
Preregistration is required to participate.
If you go
What: Lakes Trail Blazers Jigsaw Puzzle Competition
When: Saturday, April 9, with two sessions at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Where: Zion Lutheran Church, 1100 Lake Ave., Detroit Lakes
How: Must preregister; maximum of nine teams per session, or 18 teams total. Cost is $40, with a maximum of four people per team. To sign up, contact LeAnn Vetter at 218-849-7484 or
leannjayt@hotmail.com
.
