Kerby Centre has hosted an overwhelming number of programs and events in it’s 50-year history.
We’ve got archival photos of fashion shows, performances and dances of all sorts and even a clown college class — with seniors displaying their comedy skills that they’d learned right here at the centre.
But nothing comes close to the pulse-pounding excitement, the fingernail biting tension, the joy of victory and the bitter taste of defeat associated with one of our more recent and popular events.
It’s racing. But not with Formula NASCAR.1 cars.
It’s little plastic pegs in a wooden board.
Nothing matches the excitement of Cribbage.
I’ll be honest, it may sound like I’m being sarcastic when I describe how awesome and exciting Cribbage is, but I sincerely mean it. I’ve played for most of my life, and those that enjoy the game will tell you: there’s nothing like those final hands that going into the final stretch.
For those who haven’t experienced it: Cribbage is a card game for two, three or four players. Folks get dealt cards and play them out over rounds, and points are calculated and kept track on board with pegs; it’s a race to the finish with every point in your hand getting you ahead of your opponents.
A game can — and often does — come down to a single point, which makes every move you make or card you throw away a strategic choice.
Kerby Centre hosts weekly drop-in cribbage games, but this year we’ve also introduced tournaments: winner-take-all events with a massive pot of cash for those who can out-peg their opponents.
Even though the competition is part of the appeal, Joyce W. says it’s not just about victory or defeat.
“You win or you lose, you have fun,” Joyce says. “A lot of great people come here to play crib.”
Joyce has been coming to enjoy company and cards at Kerby for over two years. Not only did she win the first tournament we hosted in 2023, Joyce has an additional claim to fame.
Earlier in the year when playing drop-in Cribbage, Joyce got what’s known as a perfect hand. The amount of points you can get per hand has a range, but at the very top end, you can get 29 points; but it requires a very specific set of cards: three fives and a jack in hand, with the dealer flipping over the final five with the same suit as the jack.
The odds of this happening in any given hand? One in 216, 000!
“I couldn’t believe it!” Joyce says. “Not until we finished the hand and everyone saw what I had [did they realize] … Everyone was hugging me, kissing me and high fiving me.”
“There were people who told me, they’ve played all their life … played for 70 years and have never seen a 29-point hand.”
Sadly, Joyce did not win the most recent tournament, our third this year, held on July 25. That honour went to Dale S. and Ed F., the duo who took home the pot!
Kerby Centre isn’t just a place for programming in the same way Cribbage isn’t just a card game. It’s a place where people can come together and squeeze the life out of every moment they can.
And maybe earn some bragging rights in the process!