Schuler celebration Sept. 24 gets everyone’s engines and pedals moving
For organizers of the Schuler Rust or Shine Car Show Sept. 24, it was a major community celebration.
Put on by the Schuler Community Association, the goal was for people to enjoy themselves no matter what age, raise some money for HALO and get an opportunity for some fellowship. Anything from a quilt display at a nearby church, Victim Assistance Service dogs Mulder and Ethena in a children's bike parade all the way to a visit from the aforementioned HALO in one one of its aircraft made the day special.
For one of the organizers and spokesperson Michelle Schafer, they succeeded with their objectives on all fronts.
“Honestly, the weeks leading up the car show I was already blown away. The generosity of the donors to the silent auction or monetary donations was nothing I've seen since working on the car show,” explained Schafer. “Then come Car Show day, there were moments I was speechless by everyone. Everything came together to make this event our best to date…the 43 vehicles that registered were amazing and we were thrilled they made the trip out to Schuler…the number of people that came out and donated was amazing.
“The kid's bike parade was a huge success and something I believe will continue for years to come…. All the kids were winners in the kid's bike parade (with a chuckle). We want all kids to have the same opportunities with decorations and let their imaginations run wild. We had 42 kids: whether on a bike, in a stroller or in a baby carrier. Lots of laughs and excitement especially having the parade led by RCMP Officer Rebecca Wilkes.”
Car show numbers were down slightly from last year as Schafer acknowledged there were a lot of events going on around the county and area, but they still had 43 entries and again the crowds to look were impressive.
She added they had great vendors for the tradeshow with majority of them being new to the event. Schafer praised them saying “It was awesome seeing all of them come together to make the tradeshow a success.”
“The Rust or Shine is an annual event and this year was our 5th year running it and we are already pencilling ideas down for the 6th Annual Schuler Rust or Shine. Every year we learn new things of what works and what doesn't and every year we plan to have an
even better event the following year,” Shafer added. “There are no official totals for how much was raised for HALO at this point but I'm confident in saying everyone who attended, everyone who donated and everyone who volunteered were very generous and exceeded our expectations. The car show community, Schuler Community and surrounding areas definitely came together to help HALO.”