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Organizers of the Wild Pink Yonder trail ride breast cancer research fundraiser awarded the title of
Pinkest Little Town in the West (PLTW) to Cremona / Water Valley on
Saturday, November 5th.
Cremona Mayor Leslie Abrams accepted the award, in recognition of the $43,556.94 raised by the two small communities which are located west of Carstairs on and near Highway 22, at the River City Roundup festival in Edmonton.
In recognition of their efforts, Cremona / Water Valley will receive a free music concert for
residents to enjoy at no cost, as well as highway signs commemorating their accomplishment.
The announcement was also made on the Wild Pink Yonder website last week, serving as a
bitter sweet end to many months of planning and fundraising for other communities who got
involved.
“I felt saddened,” said Crowsnest Pass PLTW Committee Chair Aggie Mitchell of reading the announcement on the website.
“However, we won in many other ways,” she said.
“Our community embraced and supported this event with open arms in every way.”
“We all worked together, I could feel the enthusiasm, and we raised $30,576.04 – that is amazing.”
Crowsnest Pass fundraising for PLTW began in January, after local residents and community groups and organizations formed the PLTW Committee in order to come up with fun and creative ways to
generate funds, with local Lions clubs, Legions, Devon, the Crowsnest Pass Agricultural Society and Kananaskis Rodeo Association all getting on board.
The Crow Snow Riders kicked off the fundraiser by donating $711, the proceeds from entry fees for the group’s annual Poker Run on January 29th.
Countless community organizations and businesses soon followed suit, including the volunteers of the Crowsnest Pass Municipal Libraries, Beta Sigma Phi, the Kananaskis Rodeo Association, the Blairmore Legion, the Coleman Lions, the Blairmore Lions, Coleman Royal Canadian Legion Branch #9, Blairmore Royal Canadian Legion Branch #7, Spring Break Garden Centre, and Blairmore Fire Department. |
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In addition, more than $850 was collected by the “Pink Police” on June 1st, otherwise known as Pink Day in the Pass, $3,375 was raised by the Crowsnest Pass RCMP operated “Jail ‘N Bail”, $305 from Bras Across Bellevue, and $464 through the KRA Pro Rodeo pink hair dying event in April.
Local resident Jen Houze also raised $251 for the fundraiser by temporarily dying her cat’s fur pink.
Nine months of such donations and community events resulted in the PLTW Committee presenting Wild Pink Yonder organizers Jane and Rusty Hurl with a cheque for $30,576.04 on October 19th.
Mitchell said she looks back fondly on the whole event and is excited to see it return in the future. “We were great hosts, we treated the group royally, they loved our mountains and
community, and I am sure they will make a return visit,” she said.
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| The winner of the
Wild Pink Yonder’s Pinkest Little Town in the West contest is announced. |
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A total of $177,038.37 was presented to the Alberta Cancer Foundation by the Hurls, an increase of more than $100,000 from last year’s fundraiser.
Next year, the ride will take a break from its Highway 22 route, taking riders through southeastern and south-central Alberta, starting in Cypress Hills Provincial Park southeast of Medicine Hat and travelling more than 600 kilometres before arriving in Fultonvale, just east of Edmonton.
“We’re trying to lay ourselves down a few different paths to go so that we can spread the fun around the
province and also give communities like yours that worked so hard at this a bit of a break,” said Wild Pink Yonder Project Manager Rusty Hurl.
“We’re trying to give everybody a three or four year break, but we will definitely come back.”For more information on the event, visit their website: wildpinkyonder.com.
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