Photo caption: A human rainbow assembles on a hospital bed to present the coveted golden toilet plunger in 2023.

Photo credit: Chrissy Shannon

Get wild and give back to the Des Collines community with the return of the “Get into Bed with

the Des Collines Health Foundation” masquerade on February 10 at the Centre Wakefield La

Pêche.

Des Collines Health Foundation is back with the fifth edition of the event and it promises to be

as wild as ever.

In partnership with the Outaouais Integrated Health and Social Services Centre, the health

foundation works to raise funds to support 34 beds across two long-term care facilities, along

with four community health centres and the Wakefield Memorial Hospital.

Needing to secure donations and reinforce its volunteer force, the board of the foundation

devised a cheeky idea to bring together the community and relish in positivity.

Teams of local groups strut their stuff on a runway leading to a hospital bed and perform various

styles of entertainment in wild costumes.

“I’m always blown away each year by what happens on stage. It’s crazy,” said Chrissy Shannon,

one of the executive committee members for the masquerade.

With the anything-goes attitude and wild theme; this year’s theme is open for interpretation.

“It makes people come to their own conclusion of what my costume is going to be and what the

vibe is going to be when we show up,” said Shannon. “You have this breadth of creative

opportunity and it’s very cool what these community members will come up with.”

The winners will be determined by a line-up of representatives from each municipality and

awarded the golden toilet plunger and other prizes.

The event is run completely by volunteers and works specifically to support improvements to the

area’s two long-term care facilities.

With hopes to top last year’s donations, the event is aiming to raise $25,000 to assist in covering

the cost of a CellaVision DMI machine with a $45,000 price tag.

The health foundation has already received a substantial donation for this fundraiser. $8,500 has

been given by Rupert Treasures, a non-profit second-hand store that runs out of the basement of

the Rupert Community Centre.

“Every year we’ve done a special thank-you skit on stage, and though I can’t reveal the content,

let’s just say that we will need a cleanup crew after,” said Shannon.​

The 18-plus event kicks off at 6:00 pm with food from The Village House, specialty cocktails,

and local beer, followed by the show at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $40 in advance and are available

through the foundation’s website or directly on Eventbrite.