SOCIETY AIMS TO RAISE CASH FOR LOCAL ADDICTION CENTRE

Enjoy food, auctions and entertainment Saturday to help young women
conquer their addictions.

Lynn Ned, founder and executive director of the Spirit Bear Centre
Society, has had the idea for the centre for many years.

"It's been my dream for about seven years and I finally formed this
society over a year ago," said Ned. "We were hoping to be built by
December 2005 but there's a lot of red tape and hoops you have to go through."

The centre will be a 20-bed residential detox and life-skills
training centre for young, drug-or alcohol-addicted aboriginal women, said Ned.

"Basically what we are doing is raising funds so that we can move
forward, hopefully open by May 2007."

To kick off the fundraising process, Saturday's benefit dinner,
auction and concert will start with a traditional powwow dance and
drumming troupe and then continue with a dinner of grilled salmon,
moose stew, bannock, caesar salad and homemade pies.

Dinner will be followed by live music, including country singer Emily
Adams, Abbotsford's Kristal Barrett, Mike Steen and the J.D. Miner
Band, all of which will be accompanied by a silent and live auction.

The money raised by the event will go towards the most important part
of construction - buying land.

"The land has held the project up just because we don't have the
funding for the land, the provincial and federal government don't
provide the funding for the land," said Ned.

The festivities will start at 6 p.m. at the Fraser Valley Banquet
Hall [2548 Cyril Street, Abbotsford].

Tickets are $28 per person or $200 for a corporate table of eight.

To get tickets, call 604 302-1769 or drop by Tom Lee Music [32451
South Fraser Way Abbotsford].