Excitement will be felt in the Town of Leader today with a groundbreaking ceremony set to usher in a new community facility.

At 1:00 this afternoon, members of the community will be gathering for a sod-turning event to initiate the construction process for the town's curling rink. The ceremony will be held at the future facility's site which will stand in place of the old rink.

"Everyone's been waiting for this part to happen," said Erin Romaniuk, Assistant Administrator for the Town of Leader. "It's reassuring the community and the surrounding area that this is happening and it's becoming more of a reality."

Romaniuk explained how the process to begin planning and fundraising for the new facility began with the condemnation of the previous curling building. Planning started picking up once the building was demolished as well.

Both the curling club and members from town administration met to discuss what they would have to do moving forward. "Both organizations said right away we need a curling rink, we have high numbers, we need to get on this," said Romaniuk. "We hired an architect, got on the fundraising, and from there it has taken off."

The committees now have a contractor and building company as they move on to the next phase which is construction and fundraising. Romaniuk mentioned how the groups have been very busy holding different fundraising events and opportunities which will benefit the project. Although, the collection efforts still have a ways to go.

Today's event is open to the public and will feature speeches from the curling club, a representative from town council, and the contractor. The sod-turning event will also feature a special announcement from a generous donor. Cake and coffee will be served in the arena afterwards.