MOOSE JAW — Several young residents ushered in 2025 during Voltage, the signature annual event hosted by Joe’s Place Youth Centre that offers a fun, chemical-free celebration for youths aged 13 to 19.
Voltage 2024 saw attendance by around 665 individuals, including 490 youth and 175 volunteers at the Hillcrest Apostolic Church on Dec. 31, 2024.
“We had the smallest staffing team… that we’ve ever had during a Voltage season, so this event should not have happened,” announced Joe Dueck, owner of Joe’s Place. This staff shortage is the , he noted.
“It was just incredible to see the community getting involved and helping in various ways, and we pulled it off. It might have been the best one we’ve ever had.”
Guests were greeted by a fountain featuring superhero statues including a 10-foot tall Groot to match the night’s “superhero” theme.
“We decked the halls with Marvel and DC posters all up and down the halls of the Voltage venue,” Dueck said.
The night included Bazooka Ball, courtesy of Prairie Storm Paintball, a gladiator tournament with inflatable equipment, and axe throwing courtesy of Little Chicago Entertainment.
A new record was set when the winning “Bike in a Box” team disassembled and package an old bicycle into a small Rubbermaid tote in 25 minutes flat. Typically, the competition runs for over an hour and many teams give up before the two-hour time limit expires.
“They both walked away with $800 mountain bikes from Canadian Tire and that actually made the highlight video this year,” he said. “They were pretty pumped.”
Dune buggy rides offered by Golden West Trailer and a photo contest with the grand prize of a Canon Rebel T7 camera were quite popular, and a visit by the owner of the introduced many to a new sport.
Dueck said this year’s prizes “were phenomenal” and the mega prize involved a decision between a fully functional Iron Man suit (minus the thrusters, weaponry, and AI of course), an Xbox with accompanying television, and more.
“When (the mega prize winner) came to the stage he was visibly shaking,” Dueck recalled. “The audience was shouting, ‘Take the Iron Man armour,’ but in the end he chose the Xbox with the TV and was pumped.”
One recurring highlight was the annual Voltage drama skit put on by the Joe’s Place Media Alliance.
This year’s skit was written and directed by Abby Dueck, Joe’s daughter who stepped up after last year’s director passed her the torch. Ever since 2013, Abby has been involved with the skit and worked as production strategist in 2019 and assistant director in 2023.
The skit matched the night’s superhero theme and reminded guests that they’ve been given talents that they can use to help others. “Basically, they (actually do) have superpowers,” Dueck said. “If they use them for the right things, they can leave a legacy. That was a pretty cool theme to present to the youth.”
Many of these actors had never acted on stage before, and Dueck hopes they can find a new passion after conquering their fear and going up on stage before their peers to perform “just a knockout performance.”
The Media Alliance had been working hard with auditions beginning in summer 2024. In October, the team produced the Voltage Teaser video with the support of the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, and during Voltage everything came together for a grand reveal of their efforts.
, a Canadian two-time Juno award-winning band returned after a memorable performance in 2023 and one song, “After My Heart,” was given approval to be featured in the highlight video.
“We are just so thankful to all of our sponsors who donated so much to make this event happen,” Dueck said. Each sponsor was recognized in thank you posters and listed at the end of the highlight video.
The Voltage 2024 highlight video can be viewed on the Joe’s Place Facebook page, ‘’ where it currently has over 25,000 views, as well as on the organization’s and channels.
Joe’s Place is located at 402 Main Street North and can be reached at 306-693-5637. For more information visit .
