COCHRANE— The legendary Outhouse Races set to stink up Cochrane's Historic Main Street in late August will be taking a number this year due to COVID-19.
The Outhouse races which see friendly competitions between local businesses, municipality Mayors, and others, are another highly anticipated Cochrane event that will be postponed - if not cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Event lead, Dan Kroffat says he hates to be the bearer of sad news but with the current public health emergency orders in place by the provincial government and the uncertainly surrounding what's to come next, he has been tasked with making the difficult decision.
"With a thousand people on the street, I would never forgive myself if even one person was ill because of us holding this prematurely," Kroffat said.
He adds there's no doubt about going forward with the races if health measures begin to subside, but if they don't happen this year, expect next year to be "bigger and better."
Not all bad news though as Kroffat has another one up his sleeve - an uplifting community event sure to hit a high note.
The event, the Cochrane Cares Concert, is Kroffat's latest pursuit which would bare an outdoor concert with fundraising efforts.
"All funds raised would go to finishing the Cochrane Activettes Food Bank expansion as well as replenishing all the shelves," said Kroffat.
Kroffat has been in discussions with numerous celebrities including Bret Hart and potentially other members of the WWE family, Tom Jackson, who was to be honoured at the Community Builder Awards, Paul Brandt and Jan Arden. The concert is in the early planning stages, Kroffat said, but it has been well received in conversations.
"It's a bit of a world comes together, communities come together event," said Kroffat. "This is all in rough copy but I'm excited about what this could be and I hope that staging this event would be the beginning of lifting the spirits of our community."
The anticipated date for Cochrane Cares would be sometime in late September, given the circumstances surrounding COVID-19.
