Gowns on Grouse Grind — but no heels
Ten enthusiastic hikers will add touch of glamour to their fundraising effort for KidSport
No need to rub your eyes or pinch yourself: That’ll be 10 women in flowing ballroom gowns heading up the Grouse Grind on Sept. 29.
“We wanted to do something different, something challenging, something to catch people’s eye,” said Karen Stark, the driving force behind the first, and she hopes annual, Gowns on the Grind fundraiser for KidSport.
The participants will begin their ascent at 4 p.m. that Saturday, likely to the wide-eyed wonder of tourists and fellow hikers.
“I know how expensive it is to raise kids and have them in sports,” said Stark, a mother of three. “My philosophy is to let kids try a lot of things, I think it’s good for them to explore all these things to find what they like, but it’s pricey.
“So we’re happy to provide any extra help we can to families, I hate to see kids not be able to explore their interests.”
Stark and the rest of the gown gang — nine 39- to 41-year-old moms and outdoors enthusiasts who have been grinding together since their kids were babies — have raised $8,000 to date for KidSport and are looking for two more sponsors willing to pitch in $1,000 apiece.
“Another reason to do this (is that) I don’t have the money to donate directly, but I have the ability, time and passion to organize this,” Stark said. “This is a way to still be part of giving money to kids for sports.”
KidSport is a not-for-profit that buys equipment and covers registration fees for kids 18 and younger whose families struggle to make ends meet. Since the organization’s creation in 1993, more than 750,000 kids across Canada have had the chance to play sports through KidSport grants, according to the charity’s website.
Stark would like to expand the field of grinders next year.
“Maybe 10 gowns and 10 guys in tuxes.”
She has been in the sports and clothing industry for 15 years and is marketing and retail manager for the B.C. Bike Race, a seven-stage mountain bike tour that begins on Vancouver Island before making its way down the mainland coast from Powell River to North Vancouver and Squamish.
After a wildfire fundraiser selling hats that raised $5,000 last summer — that’s back up and running this summer — Stark decided three weeks ago it was time to carry out her Gowns on the Grind idea, one that had been percolating in her mind for a couple of years.
“I think it’s an awesome idea,” said gown grinder M-J Guindon, speaking on the phone as she huffed and puffed her way across the Dempsey/Braemar bike trail on the North Shore on Thursday. “Karen and I did the Grind together with our kids on our backs, I always said I wonder what it would be like to do it in heels.
“When she came up with this idea, I said, ‘I have to wear heels?’”
Thankfully, no.
Each hiker this year will wear a sash across her dress with the name of her sponsor on it. Instead of high heels, the gown grinders will wear hiking shoes donated by Salomon Shoes.