An annual car show is returning to Olde Towne Okotoks and organizers are optimistic they will get enough help to make the event a success.
The Okotoks Show & Shine will be back on Elizabeth and McRae streets on Sunday, Aug. 18 after being moved to the area around Seaman Stadium last year when organizers were unable to find enough volunteers to hold the event downtown.
The car show supports local non-profits and is hosted by the Kin Club of Okotoks, formerly the Kinsmen Club, and is the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
Kin Club member Kyle Davies said volunteers are needed for two-hour shifts.
“We thought that might improve our chances of getting volunteers out when they know they don't have to commit for the entire day,” Davies said.
He said the downtown location provides a better experience for visitors and participants, but it requires three or four times as many volunteers as the location near the stadium, which made do last year with about 50 people.
At a kilometre long, the downtown location has multiple access points, intersections or driveways that need to be monitored, Davies said.
“To be completely honest, the barricades are the biggest thing,” he said. “Some people will just see a barricade and move it. We actually need somebody there now, in front, making sure people don’t do that.”
In an effort to reduce the number of volunteers needed, the Kin Club has come up with some creative solutions like setting up info booths for non-profits at some of the barricade locations.
Other volunteer roles include managing one of five zones, providing first aid or emptying garbage.
The Okotoks Show & Shine differs from many of the big events in town, like Light Up Okotoks or Canada Day celebrations, that are organized by the Town of Okotoks, Davies said.
“We’re a volunteer group and we don’t have any paid staff,” he said.
He said the club has no plans to go back to the area around the stadium.
“There’s not a whole lot to do in the parking lot,” he said. “There are no places to explore, no businesses to see.
“Downtown has a lot more variety, a lot more people can visit the event, and there’s more things to do than just see cars.”
In a typical year, 10,000 visitors take to the streets to see 500 cars, trucks and motorcycles during the event.
For more information or to volunteer, visit okotoksshowandshine.ca.
