A smash and splash event

Sunny South Photo by Nikki Jamieson

The 10th annual Carnage in Coaldale goes this weekend

By Nikki Jamieson
Sunny South News

This weekend in Coaldale will be full of carnage.

The Kinsmen Club of Coaldale’s 10th annual Carnage in Coaldale Smash and Splash Demolition Derby and Mud Bog goes June 1-2.

“The 10th Annual Carnage in Coaldale is a fun family event where kids 12 and under can get in for free for a full day’s worth of activities,” said Jack Van Rijn, president of the Kinsmen Club of Coaldale.

“Kinsmen Club of Coaldale is in the process of raising funds for their latest project, the revitalization of Eastview Park in partnership with the Town of Coaldale, Lethbridge Rotary Club, Coaldale Kinette Club and this event is a great way for people to help us raise funds by attending and at the same time have some family fun.”

Carnage in Coaldale started in 2009. A Kinsmen member had previously participated in a demolition circuit throughout Alberta, and thought it would make a good fundraiser for the group in Coaldale.

“After we looked into it further, we found out there was an opening the first weekend of June and we decided as a group to take the project on and use it as a major fund raiser for our community,” said Van Rijn.

“One hundred per cent of the net proceeds are donated back to Coaldale and district.”

Van Rijn added that several Kinsmen members had been involved in previous demolition derbies, from when the Coaldale fire department held them, which gave them a template to work from, and he said the first demo derby “went really well”, with more than 1,000 people attending.

They focussed on bringing in drivers from southern Alberta for it, and since expanded to inviting drivers from across Western Canada to attend.

Last year, about 8,000 attended the event.

The event grew over the years, with the Kinsmen adding a second day, composed of a Mud Bog competition, to the Carnage event in 2016.

“We wanted to open up the event to a larger spectator audience and as a result we approached a local group of Mud Boggers that now refer to themselves as the Oldman River Mud Runners, and they partnered with the Kinsmen Club of Coaldale in hosting this event,” said Van Rijn.

“The Kinsmen spend hundreds of hours planning our event, setting up the event and then taking it all apart after the event. With it being so much work we thought that since it was already set up for the demolition derby it would not take much more work to add the Mud Bog.”

For the 10th year, the Kinsmen have increased the prize money for the demo derby to $11,5000, with $5,000 going to the first place winner in the main event for full size cars and the balance going towards Mini’s or compact cars, and full-sized trucks.

With the increase in prize money, Van Rijn expects they will attract more participants for the demo derby.

The Kinsmen will also be offering a free draw for kids, giving them the chance to win one of two BMX bikes, donated by Coaldale Home Hardware. More giveaways will be available during the event as well.

Anyone interested in participating in either the demo derby or the mud bog must download a registration package that includes rules for the vehicles and driver information and as well pit crew members.

Registration packages and more information can be found at visiting http://www.coaldalekinsmen.com.

Carnage in Coaldale will go Saturday, June 1, with the demolition derby starting at 1 p.m., and Sunday, June 2, with the mud bog starting at 11 a.m., and is located north of Highway 3 on 8th Street.

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