Kelowna, British Columbia – On October 1, 2023, August Luxury Motorcars held an event to raise funds for the Okanagan Fire Relief Fund in response to the British Columbia wildfires.
Owner of August Luxury Motorcars, Matt August said through the Dream Rally and other events, he’s gotten to know many local firefighters and RCMP officers, and this event was a way for him to give back to first line responders and the community.
“My whole family was evacuated,” August said. “The store was almost evacuated, the road just behind us was the evacuated area. It kind of hit home for everybody, all of our staff and everybody here volunteering their time were affected or just loves helping support our RCMP and our fire department.”
The charity car show featured millions of dollars worth of vehicles, including sports cars, boats and trucks.
Coldstream Helicopters was in attendance with one of its aircrafts. They also brought a bambi bucket–a key tool in fighting fire by air.
“A lot of people see the helicopters flying with these buckets, they look very small from the ground, and when you see it in real life and you stand beside it, it is absolutely massive,” August said.
No fundraiser goal was set for the event, but entry was a minimum of $10 per person or $30 for a family of four. Overall, the event saw a few hundred people in attendance.
“I was born and raised in this city,” August said. “This city means the world to me, our community means the world to me. For them to put in all that extra time and effort into making sure more people didn’t lose their homes and kept everyone safe… It’s amazing what they did.”
