On Saturday, July 17, an all-day Mario-Kart-inspired food bank fundraiser by the SouthRidge Fellowship Church was fully booked, but Jon Grochowski, children’s ministry director with the fellowship, said there was still room for walk-ins.
“Everything is provided,” Grochowski enthused.
“You just have to show up to have fun. There’s no cost. We just ask that you consider donating.”
Each group of three to six participants had an hour and 15 minutes to ride pedal go-karts through different courses inspired by the video game.
Ben and Alissa Lanteigne and their twin sons Gage and Hunter, four, were doing their best to beat the posted top finishing times in the slalom, cheering each other on as they pedalled around the traffic cones.
“We’re pretty competitive,” Alissa said, laughing.
It was the second of three SouthRidge Speedway events, held at the old Aldergrove Mall, across the street from Home Hardware on 272nd Street.
By the end of the second event, close to $1,200 in contributions had been collected, with more donations coming in online, Grochowski said.
On Saturday, July 24, the event moves to SouthRidge church at 22756 48th Ave.
Their goal is to raise money for the local food bank to supply wagons for families to transport items home with them.
“We want to help ensure families in our community have the ability to receive and bring home food,” Grochowski said. “The food bank has been doing amazing work every single week and we want to assist them in any way we can.”
READ ALSO: Mario Kart-inspired event coming to Langley in support of food bank
Registration is currently full but those interested are invited to check for cancellations, and there will be a limited number of walk-ins on the day of the event.
The first group begins at 9:45 a.m. and the final group at 6:45 p.m.
The go karts are designed for ages five to 99, with smaller go karts available for riders as young as three and passenger seats are available, too.
READ MORE: $2,700 raised at SouthRidge Speedway’s first two weekends of helping Langley condo fire victims
SouthRidge Speedway is being run entirely outdoors, with stations spread out across the property to allow for physical distancing.
The event has staggered start times for each group to ensure that physical distancing is maintained and that groups will never overlap.
Number of people on site, including volunteers, will never be more than 50.
Masks are not mandatory, but if participants would feel more comfortable wearing one they are welcome to, organizers said.
Every participant and volunteer involved will have to sign a COVID screening checklist.
Refreshments will be individually proportioned, and there will be hand sanitizer available at the various locations throughout the event.
To donate to the food bank and to register for the event visit southridgefellowship.ca/speedway.
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