A group of about 30 motorcycles heads up Main Street during the toy parade before leaving for the first stop on the Legion’s poker rally.

Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

The Kindersley Legion held its second annual Poker Rally and Toy Run on the weekend, and several bikers got out despite the chilly weather conditions.

A total of about 30 motorcycles gathered outside the Legion Hall on Sept. 1 to participate in the Poker Rally and Toy Run. The participants brought toys to donate to the cause and the toys will support an annual Christmas hamper program.

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More than 90 toys were donated to the West Central Crisis and Family Support Centre. The centre supplies the toys for a regional Christmas hamper program through the Canadian Mental Health Association. Several cash donations were also made to the crisis centre.

The bikers took the toys on a parade up Main Street in Kindersley before dropping off the toys at a collection point and heading out on the poker rally. The bikers stopped in Rosetown, Elrose and Eston before returning to Kindersley where a barbecue supper was enjoyed at the hall.

Legion members in the three other communities welcomed the bikers upon their arrival. According to an organizer, the Eston Legion made a donation to the crisis centre for a second year in a row. The weather did not deter the dedicated group of riders.

“They enjoyed themselves even with the bad weather,” said Al Drozd, a Legion member who helped to organize the event, recognizing that bikers are a strange breed and they often ride to support causes no matter what it takes.

Drozd said bikers came from as far away as Calgary, Medicine Hat, North Battleford, Prince Albert and Maple Creek to participate in the rally. He said it was awesome to get bikers from so many places to support the cause. All in all, the organizer said, “it was a great day.”

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