The two business owners at the Gate Avenue Petro Canada are joining forces to host a show and shine/fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Association.
Petro Canada and Gate Avenue Service will put on the event scheduled to take place Saturday, Sept. 6 from noon until 4 p.m. There will be entertainment and gift draws and prizes for all ages plus a free barbecue. But for Petro Canada owner Leesa Bakker, it’s more about the fundraising and raising awareness than it is about the fun.
“I’m a breast cancer survivor and for the past four years I’ve gone with a team of friends in the Canadian Breast Cancer Association’s CIBC Run for the Cure. So it’s near and dear to me,” Bakker said.
Bakker explained that early diagnosis saved her life. Since then her fundraising has been low key as she requested donations from friends and family.
“I talked to Richard Sweet (owner of Gate Avenue Service) and we decided to host a free event for the public in hopes of raising more for the Breast Cancer Association,” she said, as she adding that she felt it was time to broaden her fund-raising perspective to include people other than her close friends.
“Breast cancer is something that affects so many – and it’s often the people you wouldn’t think of that get it. I was fortunate because of very early detection and it was diagnosed at Stage 0,” Bakker said.
The show and shine was a perfect choice for Sweet, whose family owns several vintage Chevrolets.
“We want people to bring down their automobiles to show them off and we hope they will bring everything from exotic vehicles to hotrods. Admission is free both to show your vehicle and to come and see the vehicles. We’ll also have a bouncy castle for the kids and a ton of prizes plus a silent auction,” Sweet said.
Sweet spent most of August hunting up prizes for the various raffles and draws.
“We’ve been asking our suppliers for donations. I know we’ll have a number of different promotional items and car repair prizes plus the usual T-shirts and hats. We’ll have a DJ too so there will be music and food and old cars, all for a good cause,” he said.
Participants for the show and shine are asked to pre-register by calling Sweet at 780-459-2258 or by sending him an email at [email protected].
On the day of the event, anyone with automobiles for the show and shine is asked to have them on location between 10 a.m. and noon.
“We’re starting the barbecue at noon, so the earlier the better so we can get the cars set up. We should have room for between 100 and 150 vehicles,” Sweet said.
