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Giant puzzle donated to Saskatchewan Hospital

Puzzlers already working on number two
This puzzle, called ‘Wildlife,’ has 33,600 pi
This puzzle, called ‘Wildlife,’ has 33,600 pieces and measures more than five feet high by 18 feet long. It took Elaine and Victor Liebaert two winters to complete and they donated it to the new Saskatchewan Hospital. Photo submitted

Some people set up a card table on Boxing Day to do a puzzle. Not so with Elaine and Victor Liebaert.

They recently donated a gigantic puzzle to the new Saskatchewan Hospital.

“The puzzle is called ‘Wildlife.’ It has 33,600 pieces and measures 157 cms x 570 cms (over five feet high by 18 feet long). It was the world’s largest puzzle when we started it in October of 2015. It took us the next two winters to complete it,” the Liebaerts tell us.

“We have always enjoyed building puzzles, but it wasn’t until we built an addition on our house that we had the room to build larger puzzles,” they say. “We started with a 5,000 piece puzzle, next a 9,000, then an 18,000 before building this 33,600 piece puzzle.”

They wanted to donate the puzzle to a facility where many people could enjoy seeing it as much as they enjoyed building it. When they heard the new Saskatchewan Hospital was nearing completion they approached Corrine Delainey of Saskatchewan Hospital New Beginnings and invited her to see the puzzle to decide whether they would want to display it in the new hospital. Once she saw the puzzle, they say, she was excited to discuss it with Linda Shynkaruk, the SHNB director.

“They decided that it would be a nice addition to the artwork they were gathering for the new facility. When they told us they would be happy to accept our donation we then built and painted a wood frame to mount it on. Nicole Hanna and a staff member from All Out Graphics & Design Ltd donated their time to help us attach and laminate the puzzle to the frame. That was a huge job!” the Liebaerts say.

On Oct. 10, 2018 they delivered the puzzle to the new Saskatchewan Hospital.

“In November of 2018, we started our next project, ‘Around The World’ which is now the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle to date at 42,000 pieces,” say the Liebaerts. “We hope to have it completed by the spring of 2020. The Saskatchewan Hospital has already shown us the spot where they may want to display this new puzzle.”