Competitors will get in their soapboxes and race in a fundraiser in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter this coming weekend.
The Hub City Soap Box Derby takes place Saturday, Aug. 19, on Fitzwilliam Street from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and proceeds will benefit the Nanaimo Child Development Centre. There will be two divisions, kids and big kids/corporate, and trophies will be awarded for speed, creativity and the pit crew that is best dressed.
Anna Fraser, whose daughter Kaydence will race, assembled the Team Scramble vehicle with a bacon-and-egg theme.
“I was like, ‘Let’s try to figure out how to make a frying pan, a cast-iron frying pan,’ something cool like that, so I went and grabbed a kiddie pool from Canadian Tire and a couple of pool noodles and a lot of duct tape, a tarp I found lying in the backyard and stuck that together to make the frying pan … and found some bigger tires because we’re in the big kid race.”
Kathryn Scott, event coordinator, said all spots for the children’s division have been filled, but there was still space in the big kids/corporate division as of press time. All entries must meet safety requirements and pass inspection prior the start, she said.
Vehicle kits were given to children.
“Just because safety is our No. 1 concern, definitely no modifications can happen…” she said. “The [big kids], they build their own.”
The idea for the derby was conceived by Stu Hopewell, chief operating officer of Alair Homes Nanaimo, a longtime fan of car racing.
“I hoped that launching a soapbox derby here in Nanaimo would be a great way to share this passion and bring the community together, all for an organization I’ve always supported,” Hopewell said in a press release.
Last year’s inaugural derby raised $16,000 and Scott said the target this year is $25,000.
The event starts with a kids’ cart parade at 9 a.m., with big kids beginning at 10:45 a.m. and kids at 12:45 p.m. Trophies will be awarded at 3 p.m.
Entry for the big kids/corporate division is $500.
For more information, go to www.soapboxnanaimo.com or visit the Hub City Soap Box Derby event page on Facebook.
RELATED: Good clean fun had at inaugural Hub City soapbox derby
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