4 minute read
Groovin on a Saturday Afternoon
Groovin on a Saturday Afternoon
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
The population of the hamlet of Bruce ballooned to nearly five times its size on Saturday afternoon during the 5th annual Bruce Hotel Show & Shine.
While it was impossible to keep an exact count, Jay Walsh, who owns the Bruce Hotel with his wife Carlene, said they fed 287 people at the steak supper that evening. It was the first time, they’ve held three separate sittings to accommodate the hungry crowd. “That’s the most amount of people we’ve ever fed in a single day,” said Jay.
Each year, the Show & Shine has increased in size and scope. “It’s grown every year,” added Jay. The Aug. 24 edition had around 160 entrants and many more spectators. There was a mixture of all makes and models of cars, trucks and semi’s.
For Holden resident Ron Tkaczyk, it was only his second show and shine as an exhibitor. He brought his beloved 1981 GMC Sierra Grande half ton. It was the first truck he ever purchased, and bought it in Viking after he graduated from high school. As far as work to the truck, Ron said he put in a different motor, 383 Stroker engine. Remarkably, he only has 92,000 kilometers on the vehicle.
There was a full line up of entertainment, including country singer-songwriter Abygale Durie, who hails from Ranfurly. On Sept. 13 her new single ‘King of the Rodeo’ will be released.
Jay organized the show and shine with the help of Garret Kolmatycki, who suggested to his buddies that they go cruising to the hamlet in 2019. Jay and Carlene were on board with it. “They had so much response they made it into an annual event.
Garret is a member of the Edmonton Let’s Cruise car club. He said it doesn’t matter what you drive, everyone is welcome to cruise with them. For this year’s event, they had 17 vehicles participate in the cruise to Bruce.
“I just love coming out here. Jay and Carlene are such good hosts. They’re just like your next door neighbours.” Hands down, Garret said, “It’s the best steak dinner you’ll ever have.” The couple are very generous, donating to various charities, including the Alberta Cancer Foundation. They also partnered with the Holden 4-H Beef Club at this year’s event so they could raise funds by hosting a barbecue during the afternoon.
The event also featured an outdoor market with 20 vendors.
On Aug. 12, the Walsh’s posted this information on their Facebook page. “A few months ago we were inspired to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Bruce Hotel steak suppers in a unique way. Throughout the month of July 2024 we would keep track of how many steak suppers we served on Friday and Saturday nights and donate a portion of each meal cost to the Canadian Cancer Society in honour of our good friend and previous owner of the hotel, Karl Pickup.
Karl and Debbie owned the Bruce Hotel for 21 blissful years before they retired and they were the creators of the famous steak supper you all know and love. Karl had battled cancer off and on for many years always with a smile on his face and a positive attitude but in September of 2023 he lost his battle.
Karl touched many lives, had a million friends, lives in all of our hearts to this day and Debbie is still very much a big part of the Bruce community.
Today the donation of $858 was made to the Canadian Cancer Society in Karl’s name. We want to thank all of our customers that joined us in the month of July to support this worthy cause and we send our love to Debbie, the entire family and all of their friends.”
