The Shriners saw their months-long raffle come to an end with a special Show and Shrine and Cruise at Murray GM on Saturday night, featuring a gathering of vehicles of all types and vintages at the local auto dealership to go along with a concert by the UnCoolas.
It was a fitting end to the popular project, with it all culminating with the draw for the 2000 Plymouth Prowler just before midnight.
Yanko’s ticket was the first pulled from the drum in front of about 20 or so excited onlookers, while the $2,000 second prize was won by Darla Myron, $1,000 third prize by Jeremy Robinson and the 50/50 for $10,305 went to Derek Duzan.
While the raffle wasn’t a complete sellout, chairman Aaron Ruston was still more than happy with how it all went.
“I had set the bar very, very high on this one, and while COVID and all those things definitely changed it, with people getting out and that kind of stuff, we still did really well,” Ruston said shortly after performing soundcheck for the UnCoolas.
Those who took in the evening’s festivities were treated to an almost perfect night to hang out after a warm late-summer day. And the line-up of vehicles that took part in the Show and Shrine and Main Street cruise offered a little bit of everything for car enthusiasts, from vintage muscle cars to 1940s cruisers to modern supercars. And yes, even Herbie the Love Bug made an appearance.
It was all part of the plan for the Shriners, who wanted to make the 2021 draw just a little more special.
“The turnout tonight is just amazing,” Ruston said. “The support and people just wanting to cruise is an incredible thing… the nice thing about cars is regardless of the type of car or model of car or whatever you like, there’s a camaraderie. People like to get together and talk about cars, just talk about the freedom cars bring.”
Once everything is totalled up, it’ll be on to the Shriners’ main mission -- helping local families with their ongoing community service.
“The main thing is every penny we raise goes to the kids and projects for kids by the Moose Jaw Shrine Club, we’ll be able to help families and children and that’s what this is all about,” Ruston said.
