New auction items, raffles brings new excitement to 38th annual Wild Game Feed

Staff report

If your mouth is watering for a buffet of scrumptious wild game cuisine, then Saturday night the Brandon VFW is the place for you to be.

Beginning at 5:30 p.m. the 38th annual Ed Polzine Wild Game Feed will serve up a bevy of wild game dishes and the event will also offer silent and live auctions, raffles and games of chance, all for a good cause. The live auction is slated for a 7 p.m. start.

That good cause are the recipients of financial gifts the Ed Polzine committee gives to local children and adults battling cancer and other life-impacting illnesses, and misfortunes. 

For nearly four decades, the community has well-supported this love fest of food and friendship, and that’s evident in the amount of wild game, goods and services that are donated each yer for the auctions, raffles and games of chance. 

The wild game feed – always held the Saturday night before the Super Bowl – also honors the memory of Ed Polzine, who founded the event in 1984. He died of cancer in 1999. Harry Buck, a longtime volunteer, estimates that the event raises about $10,000 annually with hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for charity since it began nearly four decades ago.

“We don’t have any titles. We’re just a bunch of friends who get together and do this,” Buck said. “There’s about 20 or so of us. We just hear about who could use some financial help here in the area. We contact them and we give them money.”

A major part of the wild game feed is the live auction, which features donations of prizes, raffles, door prizes and other items donated by local individuals and businesses. The committee is elated with all of the donations, which includes some new items, thanks to some new recruits who joined the goodwill cause this year.

For instance, there are two tickets to the Alabama concert on June 24 at Denny Sanford Premier Center, which comes with a bit of a perk. The tickets, which were donated by Pepper Entertainment, which also promotes shows across the U.S., and promoter Jered Johnson is offering up two tickets to each of those concerts as well.

“That’s a jaw-dropping donation,” said committee member Sharon Johansen.

If cleaning isn’t your bag, a one-day cleaning package valued at $400 will be up for grabs, as well as a mobile detail package, also valued at $400.

If you’re a fan of racing, Huset’s Speedway has offered up two season passes for the 2023 season along with four tickets to next month’s Amsoil Snocross snowmobile series.

And there’s a whole lot more.

Think hunting packages, Coach purses, cases of Spam, photography packages, an air purifier, vacuum cleaners, rounds of golf, and a Big Frig cooler filled with prizes.

That’s just a sampling of the generosity the game feed committee has received.

There’s also some new excitement for the kiddos this year with the addition of a spin wheel that will be loaded with prizes, from toys to cash to gift cards. Each youngster will receive one free ticket to spin the wheel, and can purchase additional spins for $5 each.

Ang Riedel helps to promote the event on the Ed Polzine Wild Game Feed Facebook page and mans the aution and raffle tables.

“People love the food and we have such great prizes. We have so many local businesses and people donating money, donations and helping with our fundraising,” she said. “Brandon is such a great community. We raise each other up.”