This October, The Patriot Friends of the NRA are ready to welcome guests once again to one of their big annual events they have this time each year called the Gun Bash.

The group hosts two large events, one sizeable banquet in the spring and a scaled down version of that this time of year through the bash. Both events are usually well received by supporters of the non-profit.

Through these events, the group aims to raise funding for shooting sports, while also raising awareness towards safety.

The Gun Bash will be held at the American Legion Post #471, 950 Gallia Street, Portsmouth, Ohio, with doors opening at 5 p.m.

Food will be provided by the Legion and guests will have their choices between chicken alfredo or lasagna.

Just before dinner, guests will have their chances at various games and raffles.

According to Mike Sauer, of the Patriot Friends of the NRA, there will be a lot to do leading up to dinner.

“We have what we call games,” Sauer said. “We have a wheel, sort of like the Wheel of Fortune, where people can spin the wheel and can win items. There are several games in which we offer prizes for.”

Prizes for the games and raffles vary.

“We typically have a couple firearms that are raffled off and various other prizes,” Sauer said. “There are some baskets of various kinds that people can choose from and that kind of thing.”

The Patriot Friends of the NRA is a 501©3 non-profit and funding raised by the event will completely go towards Southern Ohio Friends of the NRA grants.

These grants are important, according to Sauer, because they advocate for shooting sports and proper firearm safety.

The grant application are due by October and people may apply through www.friendsofthenra.org. These grants are applied for and issued to groups in southern Ohio involved in promoting firearms education, firearms safety, recreational shooting, and more.

Previous grant funding has been used for projects such as the upgrades made to the shooting range at Camp Oyo, the purchase of targets and other equipment for the Lawrence County 4-H shooting sports program, as well as hunting events for veterans.

“One of our primary objectives is to fund shooting sports, firearms education, firearms safety programs and things like that. That is our real objective—to raise funds for these different projects, because, otherwise, they’d have a hard time getting by.”

Tickets for the bash are $35 for single admission and $60 for couples at the door of the event. Tickets are also available in advance for $25 for single and $50 for couples, but must be purchased by Monday, September 26.

For more information about the event, or to purchase tickets in advance, email [email protected] or call Rebecca Clark at 740-727-3935.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved