It may not officially be recognized as Penticton's best morning of the year, but maybe it should be.
And, like usual, it all got going at exactly the time in almost the same spot.
Just outside the SS Sicamous at 10 AM Sunday, 120-plus participants prepped under fully blue skies for the 2024 iteration of the Terry Fox Run – a hugely worthy event spirited back to life a few years ago through the tireless efforts of Pentictonite Kevin Harvey.
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At 10 precisely, the Fox gang took off along the Penticton River Pathway on a journey that would eventually return them to the Sicamous and pull in a whole lotta bucks for the Canadian Cancer Society along the way. More on that event here.
But at precisely the same time just a kilometer to the east, another group of good-hearted folks began a journey of their own. Only these guys and gals would be on motorcycles.
It was the start of the Okanagan Toy Run, a yearly happening that mixes roaring motors and close-quarter group riding to raise money and toys for deserving kids in the community.
It’s been doing just that for 37 years, making it one of the South Okanagan's longest-standing traditions.
The fact that the Toy Run bikes pass directly by the Terry Fox start line on Lakeshore Drive just seconds after 10 AM, with members from each group waving to and acknowledging one another, makes the whole thing that much cooler.
The format behind the Okanagan Toy Run remains pretty close to what it was several decades ago. Riders from all over the Okanagan and beyond gather at Rotary Park where they pay an "admission" to partake in the event.
Some will bring new, unwrapped toys. Others will pay from their wallets, purchasing a "poker hand" for $25 that will be unveiled, card by card, as they travel from spot to spot.
Soon, the pack, with Santa leading the charge, heads for its first stop at Summerland Secondary School. There, they'll gather donations from generous Summerlandians and are each given their first poker card.
The routine continues at the A&W restaurant in Oliver and at Belich's AG Foods grocery store in Okanagan Falls, before the bikes, which numbered 55 this year, and the riders and passengers, which numbered upwards of 65, return to Rotary Park.
There, each rider's poker hand is revealed and prizes doled out to the winner. And all the "admissions" and all the money raised and toys collected are given to the St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Hamper Program.
It’s a sweet deal all around.
Organizing Sunday's Toy Run, as it’s seemingly done forever, was the Okanagan Motorcycle Riders Association (OMRA). And heading up OMRA is veteran rider and long-time community asset Geoff Gawne.
"Kelowna's not doing their ride this year," he told PenticotnNow minutes before the ride kicked off Sunday morning. "They're having some struggles putting it together, so we might have a good turnout with the Kelowna bunch coming down here."
Gawne was on the money. Fifty-five bikes is a solid total, up three from 2023.
"It was a beautiful day and a great ride and a great turnout," said Gawne after the event had concluded. "We haven’t totaled everything yet, but we know it's a really good year."
What's not so good is OMRA membership totals. And Gawne, who says his organization offers a variety of benefits to those who join (just $20 annually for a single, $30 for a couple), and consistently involves itself with feel-good stuff like the Toy Run, would love to see that change.
"It's a struggle to find new members," he said. "It's been tough since the pandemic, and there's just a few of us who keep everything going."
For more info on the Okanagan Motorcycle Riders Association and its worthy programs, hit up its website here or call Geoff Gawne direct at 250-488-2237.
