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Great Valley Rally a competition à la Amazing Race

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The Great Valley Rally

The registration deadline is looming for the inaugural Great Valley Rally.

The Comox Valley Chamber and MNP Consulting-sponsored event is an opportunity for Comox Valley residents to get to know their community, their fellow residents and their own grit a little better.

The event, which will take teams in and around the Comox, Courtenay and Cumberland areas, goes July 26. Deadline for entries is July 11.

Modelled after one of the most popular reality shows on network television, The Great Valley Rally is like an Amazing Race, right here in our own backyard.

Teams of four or five will be given clues to find checkpoints, where they will then be given challenges, before getting their next checkpoint clue.

“Without giving too much away, a clue might take you to a business, then you show up at that business and they want you to cook a burger or something, in their kitchen, before getting the next clue,” explained Dianne Hawkins, president and CEO of the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce. “It‘s going to be a ton of fun.

“Businesses are so excited about it. I can’t tell you what some of the things are that people are going to be asked to do, because I don’t want teams to come prepared, but I wish I could enter, because it’s going to be a total blast.”

The purpose of The Great Valley rally is twofold. “We want to encourage community collaboration, and also to work together to support organizations that benefit all of us,” said Hawkins.

This year, the benefactor will be the Cumberland Community Forest, and the efforts being made to protect that land from logging.

“In terms of the Cumberland Community Forest, it’s a place that instantly brings interest into the Comox Valley, and it is also utilized by many residents of the Comox Valley,” said Hawkins.

There will be two separate rallies going on during The Great Valley Rally - one for motorized vehicles and a “self-propelled” division (for runners, bikers, etc.).

Hawkins says the best plan is to balance your team with a bit of brawn, a bit of brain.

“There will be prizes for people who cross the finish line first, for best costumes, for all sorts of things,” said Hawkins. “Our (committee) is putting on their thinking caps and coming up with different ways of winning prizes, so it will be a lot of fun.”

Hawkins said that weather will not be a factor.

“Oh yes, it is (a rain or shine event),” she said. “Hey! We’re West Coasters. We have webbed feet.”

The idea for The Great Valley Rally was the result of a brainstorming session among Chamber members, who were looking for an alternative to the typical summer golf tournament.

“We wanted to put on an event this summer that was a little different,” she said. “Golf is great for people who golf, but not everyone golfs. You don’t have to be ultra fit to do this; yes, there will be challenges, but that’s why you have a team.”

Hawkins is hopeful of hitting the target of 50 teams for the event. Cost is $25 per person (plus tax). The event will start at the Comox Marina park at 10 a.m. and will wrap up at the #6 Mine Memorial Park in Cumberland in the late afternoon, with a dinner and dance to live music. To enter your team, go to www.comoxvalleychamber.com/events.

 

 

 

 

 



Terry Farrell

About the Author: Terry Farrell

Terry returned to Black Press in 2014, after seven years at a daily publication in Alberta. He brings 14 years of editorial experience to Comox Valley Record...
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