Merritt’s graduating class of 2010 will be hosting a golf tournament to raise money for this year’s Dry Grad celebrations.

On May 7, at 4:30 p.m., the tournament and dinner will be held at the Merritt Golf and Country Club.

The cost for this event will be $50 and the golf course will be giving most of the money to the Grads to put towards their dry grad to be held on June 26.

People wishing to attend the tournament for the dinner portion only can do so for $25.

Merritt Secondary School has been hosting Dry Grads for about ten years now, with about eighty per cent of graduating students usually attending.

“We have a Vegas theme this year for our dry grad,” says Hillary Wahnshaff, student coordinator for the golf tournament.
“We will have dancing and a hypnotist. "It will be a lot of fun.”

The dry grad is organized with the help of parent volunteers and is fully supervised in order to ensure that all in attendance enjoy a safe, alcohol and drug free celebration.

The aim of a dry grad party is to reduce the risk of harm to the graduates, and the community at large, by offering students a choice in attending an event that is alcohol and drug free.

Andy Wahnshaff, general manager for the Merritt Golf and Country Club, whose daughter Hillary is organizing the event, says a lot of merchants make an effort to keep the grads safe and support the option for a dry event.

“We want all of our kids to move on with their futures in a safe way,” says Wahnshaff.