Crash course in fun set for Coaldale

A“smashing” good time can be expected this weekend when the eighth annual Carnage in Coaldale “Smash and Splash” Demolition Derby and Mud Bog takes place in the town 10 minutes east of Lethbridge.

The event has grown by leaps and bounds since its beginning when it attracted about 500 spectators. Now the event has become a two-day affair which draws more than 8,000 people over the two days.

What started out as a “small demolition derby” has grown “to become one of the largest demolition derbies in Western Canada,” says Jack Van Rijn, chairman of the organization committee.

The event is put on by the Kinsmen Club of Coaldale to help fund the club’s community-minded projects, and it has grown into the club’s biggest annual fundraiser, bringing in $175,000 of clear profit in the first seven years. That money has helped the community through projects such as playground builds.

The Demolition Derby goes Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and the Mud Bog takes place Sunday starting at 11 a.m. The event will move to a new location this year, north of Highway 3 on 8 Street (north of the Coaldale Motor Inn) on the west side of the road. Follow the signs.

Admission price for spectators is $10 per person (with 12 and under getting in free).

There will be a beer garden and DJ entertainment operating from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. both days, and a Kids’ Zone will provide fun for the youngsters. Ten food trucks will be on hand “so we should be able to satisfy anybody’s palate,” says Van Rijn.

Rides will be offered on the monster truck “Jurassic Attack,” and there will be a kids’ free draw for two mountain bikes. In addition, the club’s Harley-Davidson bike raffle is back for its 27th year and features a choice of five prizes — a 2017 Harley FLHR and $10,000 cash; a 2017 Fiat Spider; a 2017 Salen Travel Trailer; a 2017 Arctic Cat Wild Cat and $5,000 cash, or $25,000 cash. Raffle tickets are $10 each.

In the case of a rainout (something which hasn’t happened in the event’s previous seven years), the event will be pushed back to June 10-11.

Van Rijn says that, as part of the demolition derby, organizers will raffle off two demo cars for members of the public to race in the main event. He notes the winner “will be equipped with safety equipment, a crash course (no pun intended) on how to drive and, of course, a ‘prayer’ before we cut them loose on the track.”

Tickets are $10 each and the raffle cars include one mini car and one fullsize car.

The move to a new location from previous years’ setting on the south end of town was necessitated by the fact the event has simply outgrown the old location. Van Rijn said the Town of Coaldale has kindly provided an area of undeveloped land in the industrial park and the club has been building a track which it hopes to use for the next four years.

The mud bog, which debuted last year, features competition in seven different classes — stock, super stock, pro stock, modified, super modified, open and X Class. The demolition derby includes competition in mini car, full-size car and truck categories.

Find more information, visit http://www.coaldalekinsmen.com.