A popular Kelowna event will not roll out this year, though organizers claim they will be back.
“It is with heavy hearts that we have made the incredibly difficult decision to postpone the 2023 Okanagan Dream Rally due to circumstances that are out of our control,” said the organization that puts on the event, the August Family Foundation, in a statement released online Thursday.
It did not disclose what those circumstances were.
“After five overwhelmingly successful events with countless lives changed and historic levels of funds raised, we know the impact this event has on our community but more importantly the children and families that it’s dedicated to.”
The event, which by 2022 had raised over $1.7 million for organizations like Ronald McDonald House Charities and KGH Foundation, pairs 250 children with 250 high-end rally cars and drivers for a day.
In turn, upwards of 50,000 spectators would gather and watch as the cars toured the valley.
While the event is stalled this year, it’s not forever in park.
“We made a commitment to countless deserving children and their families when the Dream Rally was founded,” reads the statement.
“That is why we’ll be restructuring the Okanagan Dream Rally into a biennial event and will be hosting every second year, beginning in 2024.”
Organizers said the 2024 Okanagan Dream Rally will feature an all-new vision, highlighted by a new route that will fully showcase the valley. This, paired with several new surprises, will ensure next year’s event to be our best to date.