Sunday afternoons are those quiet days where you prepare for the week ahead, maybe do your grocery shopping or possibly even sneak in a nap. But on Sunday September 27, 2015, there was no resting in Rainbow Falls as Lake Ridge Community Church held their first annual Soap Box Derby.
The fun all began on Saturday September 19th, when several participants gathered to build their soap box cars. In a garage on West Chestermere garage, kids and adults were busy cutting, drilling and creating their cars with the hopes that they would be #1 in the race. A few test drives were done and then throughout the week, the cars would be painted, decorated and prepped for the upcoming week’s race.
On Sunday September 27th, Rainbow Falls Link was shut down (thanks to the assistance of the City of Chestermere) and transformed into a race track. A line of bright orange pylons split the road with chalk lines down the sides to create a safe zone near the curbs. Lake Ridge Pastor, Even Dewald says, “The greatest motivation was to create a fun event for kids and parents in our city. This event really was about kids and parents/important adults in their lives to do something together”. That was abundantly clear as parents, guardians and other family members not helped in the building of the cars, but also lined the track and cheered them on.
Two by two the racers were lined up on the starting line, emcee for the event Bruce McAllister would blow the air horn, and off they’d go. Some cars ran into mechanical trouble and needed a little push from race officials, but for the most part, fun was the name of the game. “As far as rules go it really was about fun. We have several things to improve on if we are going to get more serious, but right today was about good sportsmanship/laughter and a plain old fashion good time. Our city has been through so much this year and if we are going to continue to heal we need to rely on each other, laugh, play, and think about each other, first”, said Dewald.
“We had just north of 40 racers today their ages ranged from 4 years old to 65. Not all kids had their own cars, of course, several kids who have built in previous years were very generous and loaned us their cars so others could race. I really would like to give a shout out to them”, added Dewald. For those that built their own cars, the cost was $200 which paid for the wheel kits, all the wood and hardware and their entry fee into the race.
Dewald also mentioned that “the city was very willing to encourage an event like this. Also we spoke with all the people living there and it is an easy road to shut down as the traffic is easily diverted”.
“To the kids who gave up their cars so others could race…generosity among our kids should be celebrated. The second, to the City of Chestermere for allowing us the street and barriers. Thirdly to the RCMP, seriously they need a huge shout out. Whether they were running a radar gun, (fastest car was clocked at 21 KM/H) they also issued several tickets to kids which was a huge success and the kids loved it. To top it all off there was a short car chase. Apparently there was a preacher who was breaking the speed record and needed to be slowed down. Lastly to the team of people who planned the event. A great deal of time was put into making sure the kids had a great time. Our team at Lake Ridge really worked hard to make sure we didn’t hold back. Making sure every kid felt valued and important for that I am so grateful”, added Dewald.
“With the success of today as well as the build day I’m confident we will be doing it again next year” Dewald mentioned. I’m sure there are many kids, and even the adults, that are happy to hear that.
