Adam Hicks, a volunteer event chair for Summer Bash, was on his ninth hour of putting up lawn signs for the festival when his car was stolen in the early hours of Aug. 14. The thieves made off with more than just his vehicle, and now the Harbour Landing event is paying the price.
Inside his blue Toyota Prius were $3,000 worth of “Summer Bash” signs, $500 in 50/50 money, Hicks’ laptop, tablet, wallet and phone.
“I was a little angry that I had just lost all that stuff,” Hicks said.
But, the volunteer considers himself lucky. Just hours after the car was reported stolen, Regina Police recovered it. The next day, Hicks says officers nabbed a suspect, which led them to finding most of his stolen possessions; however, the event money and laptop were lost.
“There are a lot of things that we put money into,” said Kyara Moone, a Summer Bash committee member. “Five-hundred dollars goes a really long way and it’s really hard to make up.”
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“So that means there’s less tents, or less tables, or less seating or an entertainer that we can’t provide.”
Summer Bash hosts a number of markets and movie nights, all leading up to the main festival on Aug. 25. The festivities feature an Indigenous pavilion, a cultural stage, a children’s area, live music and dancing.
Not only did the bank account for the volunteer-driven event take a hit, but Hicks says three days of planning were lost while he dealt with the theft.
“We might have a few less activities and a few less things to do just because we haven’t been able to reach out to everybody we wanted to reach out to,” Hicks said.
Hicks still expects it to be the biggest bash yet, as activities are spilling over from Fairchild Park to the neighbouring Groome Park in Harbour Landing.
Not all heroes wear capes
Online support is pouring in after volunteers set up a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the stolen cash. The page has a goal of $4,000.
“We’ve already made up for all the 50/50 money that we lost, which is absolutely amazing that the community has stepped up and helped,” Hicks said.
Hicks says the excess money will go toward event planning, adding the group broke even from the previous two festivals.
Hicks says it’s fitting that many local heroes have stepped up to help, as the bash plans to attempt the world record for most capes worn in one location.
Ten local charities will be handing out 4,000 capes to participants. Moone says it’s a way for charities to connect with the people in the community who may need help.
“A lot of the organizations work with people who tend to be isolated because of certain conditions or at least feel isolated,” Moone said. “This is a fantastic opportunity to show everybody that we can bring everybody together as a group and bring knowledge to this.”
They only need 2,300 people to beat the record, but Hicks says they want to double that to 5,000.
“We believe we’re going to smash this record,” Hicks said. “The idea is to show people that together we can do so much more. As individuals you might not be able to accomplish things like this but if we all gather around a cool cause and support these local charities that we can accomplish something bigger than ourselves.”
People can donate to the GoFundMe campaign here.
The festival runs Aug. 25 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Fairchild Park and Groomes Park in Harbour Landing.
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