Our 20th Annual Balding for Dollars Main Event went off without a hitch in May of 2019 at BC Children’s Hospital.
It was a beautiful, sunny day and we were so excited to celebrate all of the past 20 years of hard work, sweat, tears, thousands of volunteers, many who have organized and hosted events, all of the amazing participants who have cut or shaved, and of course having raised collectively within our community and at our Main Events over 5 Million Dollars! All of this is a perfect reason to enjoy a carnival and support families going through cancer and blood disorders in BC.
We had over 40 participants cut or shave their hair, who all fundraised leading up to the event. There were even some brave kids, and a beard and mustache that went as well! It is always amazing to see those standing in solidarity beside all these kids who lose their hair involuntarily to cancer treatments. The hair collected that was 10″ or more, was saved and sent to our wigmaker to be turned into wigs for kids that have lost their hair.
Activities included our all famous Entertainment line up: A presentation of critters from Urban Safari Rescue Society, Princess and Superhero guests from Pacific Fairytales, beautiful Fairies from Fairy Skye, Live music all day from Steve Marriott, Brody Lay & Matt Storm. We also had popcorn, sno-cones, cotton candy, a full array of lunch and treats – some of which was donated by Save on Foods Bentall location, and of course some delicious coffee donated by our very own Children’s Hospital Starbucks. We also had some special friends join us from West Coast Kids Cancer Foundation, Childhood Cancer Family Support, & Starlight Children’s Foundation.
Besides cheering on the amazing participants, indulging in some treats, and enjoying the entertainment our guests had fun with all of the other fun activities available. There was no shortage of fun available- the giant bubble wand station, the instagram frame photo stop, all of the giant games such as Jenga, Tic Tac Toe & Ball toss, getting facepaint, taking photos in the Pixstar photo booth, making a button or craft, and visiting our donated vendors such as Vancity Slimes, Joyce Li Greeting cards, & the My Battle With Cancer storybook.
We also had two new additions to the event this year: a silent auction table with some amazing prizes- a canucks ticket package, beautiful succulent garden, tim hortons basket, a signed canucks stick, kids activity pack, an apple watch, an amazon alexa, and much more – All donated! As well as we had a 20th Year commemorative canvas where participants past and present could place their “mark” in the form of a handprint and written message of a special memory. It was a huge success.
Everyone had a blast, and the feeling of support and joy was definitely in the air. We always say that we wish we didn’t have to exist, but while we still do, we are so grateful to be able to put on these events to celebrate all of the beautiful families who have gone through this horrific journey.
The upcoming 21st Annual Main Event is set for May 9th, 2020! If you are thinking of cutting or shaving your hair, fundraising, or hosting your own event- please visit our website for more info, and as always info about other events local to your community are listed as well. To sign up to fundraise and or cut/shave click here. We hope to see you there!
