Sunny surprise for St. Catharines 50/50 winner Frank Parkhouse
June 13, 2024
It's a perfect start to the summer for June's 50/50 jackpot winner.
Frank Parkhouse was relaxing at his St. Catharines home on the first day of June when he received a sunny, summer surprise. Drayton Entertainment’s Artistic Director, Alex Mustakas, phoned to let him know that his winning ticket #99012852021 had been drawn in the latest 50/50 lottery, netting him the grand prize of $4,860.
“I was sitting at my computer when the phone rang,” he recalls. “I had just been thinking about getting my ticket for the next go round.”
On June 22, Parkhouse met with Drayton Entertainment’s Associate Artistic Director David Connolly at Hamilton Family Theatre Cambridge to collect his winnings.
“My wife, Ivy, and I have been going to Drayton Entertainment shows since 2010,” he says. “Part of the fun is the 50/50s that are actually at the shows themselves, and then going online to do the monthly draws. Of course, you never expect to win, but always in the back of your mind you think, ‘Gee, it would be nice.’”
The couple will be sharing this unexpected good fortune with their adult children, Troy and Starlet. “They have children who are active, so we’re going to give some to them to make their summer somewhat more pleasant.”
The first Drayton Entertainment show the Parkhouses attended was The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse, 14 years ago. “Our good friends introduced us to the theatre there, and my wife keeps track of all the shows. We’ve been going every summer, taking in all the shows right through till September.”
“What we usually do is go to shows back to back,” he adds. “We see an afternoon show, stay overnight, and then have a show the next afternoon. It sort of makes it a holiday for us, and we get to stay and enjoy the countryside while.”
Explaining why he plays the 50/50, Parkhouse says, “We like to contribute to the arts. We think that it’s a worthy cause, let’s put it that way. The quality of the shows is always impressive, especially the musicals. The talent is just amazing.”
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