CARP – A bit later this week more than 500 men will be heading to W. Erskine Johnston Arena for the Carp Fair’s annual Men’s Night. A week later, more than 1,000 women will take part in the Carp Fair’s Ladies Night.

Both Carp Fair fundraising events are annual staples in West Carleton – not to be missed. And if you’re a man, you are in luck as tickets are still available for the April 18 event. If you are a woman, well we’ve got some bad news for you – the super-popular Ladies Night has been sold out for weeks.

This Thursday, heading in to the Easter long weekend, get together with the boys and have an evening geared just for you.

Doors open at 6 p.m. with a social hour. Dinner is at 7 p.m. with some short speeches from the local politicians, and then the real comedians take the stage.

This year’s entertainment is the Given’R Comedy Tour featuring comedians Kyle Mesdag, Ken Strangway, Jim McNally and Rick Currie.

“They’re a pretty good group of guys,” Carp Fair Agriculture President Doug Norton told West Carleton Online April 11. “They play off of each other very well.”

Meanwhile, the W. Erskine Johnston Arena ice pad will be filled with all the good stuff.

“Boats, four-wheelers, trucks, Cadillacs, lawn tractors – all the boy toys,” Norton said. “You can stand around, kick some tires and chat with your buddies.”

This year’s event is a fundraiser for the Ottawa Heart Institute – a place Norton is very familiar with.

“I’ve had open heart surgery three times starting at 20,” he said.

Tickets are $40 and some will be available at the door if you haven’t got yours yet.

The following week on Friday, April 26 it will be the ladies’ turn to take over the rink. As is usual for this very popular event, it’s already sold out and has been for weeks.

But Carp Fair Homecraft President Martha Palmer is still keen to talk about it.

“We sold out before we could advertise,” she told West Carleton Online. “It’s a great community event.”

This year’s theme is Cruisin’, and as is tradition, we are sure there will be many great costumes on the party-goers.

There will be dinner, vendors, raffles, speeches, 50-50 and specialty drinks.

This year the Carp Fair will be raising money for Down’s Syndrome and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

“Kick back and have some good times,” Palmer said. “It’s lots of fun and I don’t think there’s anything else like it. It’s so fun to host something so many people look forward to.”

Come back to West Carleton Online a little later this week when we will have a more detailed story on this year’s Carp Fair presidents.

For tickets or more information on Men’s Night and Ladies Night, click here.