THORHILD — For most people, having a vehicle end up in a lake or a river, especially during the winter, would be a personal disaster costing thousands of dollars.
However, the Thorhild and District Agricultural Society are turning this unusual mishap into a way to raise money for general upgrades to the Thorhild Agriplex.
The ag society is now running a “Splash and Crash” fundraiser wherein people can purchase tickets and bet on when a donated vehicle eventually drops through the ice on a dugout along Highway 18.
Alex Torguson, president of the Thorhild ag society, said people can purchase tickets for a date and time when the car goes through the ice at the Splash and Crash website (splashandcrash.ca).
The tickets are for 10-minute blocks on various days, and the winner will be whoever guesses the exact time or is the closest to the point when the car goes into the water.
“We have a switch that's going to remotely go off once it hits the water ... That’ll designate the exact time that the car goes down,” said Torguson.
Though the weather has been warm lately, Torguson indicated there is about 24 inches of ice on the dugout located on Marcel Quaghebeur's land, so it’s hard to say how long it will take for the vehicle to go through the surface.
“The biggest excitement, I guess, when the water starts coming on the dugout. [The car will] appear that it’s sinking,” Torguson said.
The winner will receive half of the pot, with the rest going to the Thorhild Ag Society's general fund for maintenance and enhancements to the Agriplex.
Tickets are $20 each, though they can also be purchased in packs of three for $50, eight for $100 or 25 for $250.
Incidentally, the vehicle is a 1977 Cadillac donated by Curtis Kuban, and the dugout in question is on land belonging to a local farmer.
Torguson said the Kitscoty Agricultural Society ran a very similar fundraiser last year dubbed the “Klunker Dunker.” Thorhild approached Kitscoty and asked who developed the website for their fundraiser; they then contracted that same website developer to do the same thing for Thorhild.
Torguson indicated they have a note of thanks on the front page of the Splash and Crash website to Kitscoty “for guiding us through the process of getting this event going.”
Once the car is sunk, it will be hauled out of the dugout, and the Thorhild Ag Society is planning on converting it for entry into the annual demolition derby, which is typically held around Canada Day.
Torguson said they are planning to also sell tickets for the “crash” portion of this fundraiser, with the winner having the option of either taking home half the pot or driving the car in the derby. However, those details are still being worked out.
