BOWDEN — Tricycle races, held for the first time in years as a fundraiser for the Paterson Community Centre in Bowden were so successful that a spokesman says organizers plan to run them annually.
The races were part of a St. Patrick’s Day party, held the evening of March 17 at the Paterson Community Centre. The band Crossroads provided music between racing events.
John May, who served as MC for the evening, said about 175 people showed up.
“They want to do it every year around St. Paddy’s Day,” he said during an interview with the Albertan.
The event raised about $4,300, which will go to help Expanding Horizons, the non-profit group that runs the community centre, cover maintenance costs for the facility.
Manager Kim Urichuck said specifically, the money will go toward paving the facility’s parking lot.
The races were originally held in the ‘90s at the Bowden Hotel, which closed down in 2016, then was burnt to the ground a couple of years ago.
The winning team was Larry Rankin and his son Kaiden. Larry was one of the original winners when the races were held in the hotel.
Attendees appeared to be having a good time during the evening.
“Oh yeah, big time,” May said.
Urichuck said the idea for the races came up during a board meeting last December.
“(We’re) just trying to find some different community events – affordable community events – where people can come out and have a good time,” she said.
The vast majority of attendees at the party were young adults.
Urichuck said that’s part of a deliberate strategy to attract younger residents to events and fundraisers in the community.
“I mean, we always do the dinner theatre and we do our small business Christmas party every year, but it seems like it’s geared more towards – you know – middle-aged folk like myself," she said.
“So we’re trying to do more things that engage the younger crowd as well.”
