St. Albertans got their first look at the new car Rock’n August will be auctioning off for the next year.
On Tuesday night, a teal blue 1973 Plymoth Barracuda was debuted to St. Albert during the Rock’n August festival, moments after the winner of the previous year’s raffle was announced.
“It's a phenomenal car,” said Cheryl Mackenzie, Rock’n August’s co-ordinator of the Alberta Diabetes Foundation’s Classic Car for a Cure Lottery.
“It's great because it's a big block, which means that it's not a standard engine,” Mackenzie said.
The engine is a 440 big block, compared to the standard 328 engine.
The winner of the previous year’s car, which is a 1969 convertible Camaro, was announced on Tuesday night before the new car debuted.
Rock’n August sold tickets for the Camaro for a year, and netted around $132,000 in ticket sales, Mackenzie said, with the excess money donated to the Alberta Diabetes Foundation after the car was paid for.
The new Barracuda car will have ticket sales run for the entire year, too, Mackenzie said.
In years past, the auction has ran from spring until Rock’n August, but last year, due to COVID, they got a special extension to run the lottery for a year.
After the success of last year, Mackenzie said they are going to continue to sell tickets for the car for an entire year to help raise more money for the Alberta Diabetes Foundation.
For the next year, the Barracuda will visit different car shows in the province in order for Rock’n August to sell more raffle tickets for the car.
The lottery is one of the most important fundraising pieces of Rock’n August, Mackenzie said, and in 2019 they were able to donate $100,000 from the lottery alone to the diabetes foundation.
Mackenzie expects the next car to sell more than $200,000 in tickets, which means the lottery will generate some $125,000 for charity, on top of the $60,000 to $80,000 they raise during the week of Rock’n August through registrations and donations.
“It's a proud moment. We've worked really hard,” Mackenzie said.
For the next year, the Barracuda will be parked at the St. Albert Dodge dealership for residents to see. Tickets will also be available at the location.
“It’s a huge support for us to have a local sales location,” Mackenzie said.
The majority of ticket sales are done in person, Mackenzie said.
Rock’n August is running from Aug. 2 to 6.
