Is your outhouse ready for some pushing, grunting and running?
The 14th annual Cochrane Outhouse Races, put on by local retail store Heavenly Outhouse, will hold its 14th race Saturday, Sept. 27 during Alberta Culture Days.
Races begin at 10 a.m. and will go until around noon – depending on the speed of the racers.
“It’s all for such a good cause and it’s fun,” said Karrie Peace from Heavenly Outhouse, who organizes the event. “People are coming together and it is so team-building.”
Peace said there are still a few spots left to register for teams that are interested in the race.
The event has teams race their decorated outhouses against one another in heats made up of two teams. Teams must include four runners and one rider. There is a $500 prize for funniest team and a $500 prize for the fastest team supplied by Elegant Woodwork.
Teams must run from the Rexall Drug Store on Main Street to the end of the block and then run back – swerving around pylons at the turn.
Former professional wrestler Dan Kroffat will be announcing the races this year.
Peace said that she is excited about the entries this year and that there are a lot of surprises in store the day of the event – she said it may even include some nuptials.
The registration fee is whatever entrants want to donate said Peace, with 100 per cent going towards the Christmas food hampers put together by the Cochrane Activettes Food Bank.
She said last year they raised over $8,000.
One local business that has been really pushing the fundraising efforts is the RBC Royal Bank in Cochrane. Last year they managed to raise $1,500 and are aiming for $2,000 this year.
Keri Camba is a customer service representative with Royal Bank in Cochrane and has been organizing the fundraising efforts.
She said that it is important to her and fellow employees to be able to give back to their local community and they think the food bank is a great cause.
“It is even more of a concern this year from what we’ve been informed,” said Camba. “I just think a lot of us take things for granted, so we just want to give back.”
Some of their fundraising efforts have included popcorn sales to customers, paying per guess of how many jellybeans are in a jar, having the staff pay to wear jeans on Fridays and one employee has donated a homemade meal and staff can make donations to purchase some of the food.
Camba didn’t know whether they were going to be aiming towards winning funniest or fastest this year, but she did say that their outhouse is currently proudly displayed in the branch lobby.
Anyone interested in signing up for the races can contact Peace at [email protected].
