Your grandparents weren’t the ones out on the town for bingo on Monday — but the ones who were might look like your grandparents.
“Not Your Grandma’s Bingo” was held last night at The Station, a Carrboro bar recently opened under new management. All proceeds from the event went to the Orange County Rape Crisis Center.
But to mix things up event organizer and UNC employee Jaclyn Gilstrap invited everyone to dress up as his or her favorite grandparent for the game.
“What I love about bingo is that it is always played in a community,” she said. “I love the idea of people coming together around a common cause. But you know, who plays bingo? These days, I feel like it’s something only my grandparents do.”
That thought inspired Gilstrap’s idea for a costume party. She calls it “Not Your Grandma’s Bingo” because of the bar environment, as well as the prizes awarded.
The “self-care” prizes range from cookies and candles to sex toys, which the winner can choose based on what he or she feels is self-care for him- or herself.
Gilstrap is a member of the board of directors for the OCRCC, which is entirely volunteer-based. She said because those who are a part of the organization are unpaid volunteers, it's especially important to have events like bingo in the community to raise funds for the center.
She also said while the center is available for all of Orange County and parts of Durham, many of those who access it are UNC students.
Alyson Culin, interim executive director of the OCRCC, said the organization is thrilled to benefit from this event.
