STARS' 30th home lottery includes 3 dream homes, millions in prizes

Three dream homes, along with a lakefront townhome in B.C., are among the top prizes of the 30th annual STARS Home Lottery.

Officials say the grand prize dream homes are available in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge and are open to the public to view, following two years of pandemic restrictions that prevented it.

Calgary's dream home is called "The Westwood" and it's located in the northwest community of Ambleton.

The 3,021 square-foot home, which has five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, is worth $1.2 million.

Edmonton's $968,000 dream home, on Carr Road, is 2,390 square feet in size and has three bedrooms and three bathrooms while Lethbridge's is on Halifax Road West and is 2,239 square feet with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. It's valued at $905,000.

Officials say all of the ticket sales go to support STARS and its life-saving efforts.

"When you're buying a lottery ticket for STARS anywhere in this province, you know the next time you see us flying overhead, your money – whether that's $30 or a couple hundred – actually contributed to pay for our staff and for that vehicle to come and get you," said Andrea Robertson, STARS president and CEO.

One Calgary woman who was flown by STARS to hospital after an animal attack knows the benefit of the service all too well.

Marcia Birkigt was at a mountaintop worksite in northwestern Alberta when she was attacked by a cougar but says she only survived because of the expertise of the STARS crew.

"At night time, I was about 40 metres away from the rest of the group when, suddenly, a cougar came out of the bush, facing me. I started yelling at it and stepping back, but it kept moving closer to me."

She says she tried hitting the animal with a small spade she was carrying, but the cougar attacked her.

"I don't really know what happened – if I tripped or it pounced – but it seems to have happened simultaneously."

The cougar bit Birkigt's face several times, shook her around and "carried her completely off the ground."

Her coworkers came to her aid after hearing her yelling for help and managed to kick the cougar off of her.

Birkigt says her colleagues called for help and STARS was dispatched to the scene, which flew her to hospital.

"Mentally, being out there in that situation, it was really like a complete nightmare. I don't know if my mental recovery would have been as quick if I had to spend more hours lying out there with an animal that kept coming back and trying to kill me," she said.

"Thanks to everyone at STARS, but thanks to everybody who keeps STARS in the sky. Without them, I might not be here."

A fourth home – a lakefront townhome in West Kelowna, B.C. worth approximately $870,000 – is being offered as an early bird prize.

There's also a bonus prize – a 2023 Winnebago Solis 59P RV or $150,000 in cash.

As well, anyone who buys a ticket will be entered into the LUCKY STARS 50/50 that will see the winner walk away with $4.5 million.

Details on how to purchase tickets is available online.