An elementary school in Nanoose is raffling off a pair of tickets to Taylor Swift's Vancouver show in December, a project which could net them $20,000. (NanaimoNewsNOW composite)

By Alex Rawnsley

eras tour

‘Really magical experience:’ Nanoose school raffling Taylor tickets to build outdoor space

Apr 30, 2024 | 11:56 AM

UPDATE — Tickets for the raffle sold out around 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1 with over 350 selling since publishing of this story on Tuesday, April 30.

EARLIER — NANOOSE BAY — An exceptionally generous donation is helping a local elementary school raise thousands of dollars for an outdoor play and learning space.

A raffle is underway at Nanoose Bay Elementary School, through the school’s Parent Advisory Council, for a pair of tickets to Taylor Swift’s Dec. 6 show at BC Place in Vancouver. Tickets sold out in seconds when the shows were announced last year.

Each raffle ticket costs just $25 with a limit of 800 to be sold, making it a situation where just about anyone can get involved according to Laura Solowioniuk, raffle co-organizer.

“The goal for this was that somebody could go see Taylor that normally couldn’t afford it, that’s what started this. The idea was anybody could do this, anyone could go and it was really important to all of us that someone who really needs to see Taylor could maybe have this really magical experience.”

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As of Tuesday, April 30, 540 of the 800 tickets were sold with the school raising $13,500 of the maximum $20,000 amount allowed under their gaming license.

Solowioniuk said a family at the school generously donated the pair of tickets they were able to buy through the Ticketmaster process last year.

She added she was initially thrown off by the approach, thinking it was some sort of scam, however after meeting the family and getting to know them, it was clear they wanted to do something for the community.

“They’ve watched what we’ve done as far as the last few years we got a brand new playground coming to the school, our garden has been redone, we’ve been doing a lot of things for the school and they’ve been watching it happen.”

The upper-bowl seats with a side view of the stage could fetch upwards of $4,500 each on the current re-sale market.

Skepticism on the process has extended publicly as well, with Solowioniuk fielding lots of calls and messages from her online posts advertising the raffle.

“I’ve personally had clients or friends or people from the community and ask if someone hacked my Facebook. This is absolutely legitimate, everything’s real, I’ve put it out on my professional pages and personal pages, I’ve put it through the Oceanside Mom’s Group, the Nanoose Bay networking page…even in those posts you can see people going ‘is this real?’”

A seat map of BC Place and the setup for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show, highlighting section 418. (Rate Your Seats)

Money raised will go towards the creation of an outdoor space at the school to help kids learn and play outside year-round.

“We’re trying to build a covered outdoor space with some tables and chairs so that year-round the kids can be outside, playing games, doing Lego, chess, classes can be outside. We do a lot of outdoor programs at our school and they try to keep the kids outside as much as they can.”

She estimates the total cost of the project will be between $40,000 and $50,000.

Raffle tickets are available for purchase online until May 10, provided they don’t sell out beforehand, and are only available to B.C. residents.

The draw will also occur on May 10 with more information available here.

Solowioniuk said if the winner needs it, the PAC will also help out with some travel costs to ensure there is no barrier to enjoying the show.

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