Casey Richardson
There were more than 230 smiling faces of kids in supercars Saturday morning as the Okanagan Dream Rally made its way from Kelowna to Penticton and back again.
August Luxury Motors hosts the event, where underprivileged and sick children get to be co-drivers for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
August Luxury Motors owner Matt August said he reads all of the kids’ stories and tries to put them with a driver he thinks will get the most out of the experience.
“The stories are heartbreaking. We had a little boy who was supposed to ride with us today and his mom told us he got too sick. [to come]. I found out this morning that he died,” August said.
“There are so many kids who you know are terminal, who are going through these things and to see them smile for that little bit makes all that hard work worth it. Everything we do, it’s really, really beautiful.”
After a hiatus due to the pandemic, the fifth annual event did not disappoint as it filled with spectators along the Route 97 route.
“Every year we do this, there’s something that ‘wows’ me. I’ve never seen so many people out here looking at us. It was crazy, all the way to Penticton. Every time there was a light or a parking lot where somebody could park, there were people with flags, cheering on all these little kids and it’s really, really cool.”
This year the rally had a full police escort.
“I apologize for the traffic problems we’ve caused, but I just know waiting for some traffic made the kids smile from ear to ear,” August said with a laugh.
“We have to give a big shout out to the RCMP. Without them, this doesn’t happen. And the City of Kelowna, the City of Penticton, the Ministry of Transportation, without shutting all of this down, we wouldn’t be here. There would be cars showing up in Penticton hours and hours one after the other.”
This year funds were raised for the Ronald McDonald House and the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation.
August said both organizations were chosen for their work dedicated to helping those in need.
This year’s Dream Rally featured five cars in memory of 20-year-old Tyrell Flick, who was tragically killed in a car accident on July 12 in Peachland.
Kelowna’s Meal Prep for You donated all the lunches to participants and volunteers on Saturday, who were happy to help the worthy cause.
“We’re honored and privileged just to be a part of this event, it’s raised a lot of money and helped a lot of people,” said partner and former NHL player Duncan Keith. “It was great to see some of the kids and meet some of them today.”
The Dream Rally will return through Kelowna and end with a private after party tonight.
“We’re going to go over a million dollars today,” August said. “We’ve raised about $1.7 million since we started doing this. And today we’re hopefully close to $3 million and the turnout has been amazing. The volunteers, the drivers, the families, the people who came out and looked, it was incredible”.