An event scheduled next Saturday might appear to be strictly for the birds, but also will include the lofty purpose of aiding multiple charitable causes locally.
It involves a 100-mile pigeon race now in its fifth year, which is being staged through a new partnership of two groups, the Mount Airy Rotary Club and the Surry Sunrise Rotary Club.
Two hundred racing pigeons based in Mount Airy are to be transported to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where they will be released simultaneously to fly to their lofts back home.
Tickets for the race are being sold to the public, whereby cash prizes can be won depending on which birds return the fastest. First place will be good for $2,000, second for $1,000 and third, $500. Ticket holders for those finishing in fourth and fifth place are to receive $250 and $100, respectively.
The cost is $100 per person. Ticket locations include Zibby’s Cleaners at 712 N. South St. and Webb Interiors, a business at 217 N. Andy Griffith Parkway operated by Anne Webb, with the Surry Sunrise Facebook page mentioning that tickets also can be obtained from club members.
Proceeds from the pigeon race, to include business sponsorships in addition to ticket sales, will aid backpack programs of local schools to provide food for students in need, as has occurred with past races.
“And we’re going to be helping first responders, people who have been working on the front line,” Marion Goldwasser, a Mount Airy Rotary Club member, said of that group’s focus on a new set of beneficiaries emerging with the coronavirus pandemic.
Goldwasser is coordinating the race on behalf of it, while Steve Norman, the owner of pigeons that will be racing, who also a member of Surry Sunrise Rotary, is the coordinator for that club.
Race day festivities
Each pigeon is to be assigned a unique alphanumeric number affixed to a leg band with a bar code, organizers explain.
Pigeons will be scanned next Saturday as they enter their lofts in Mount Airy, which has been described as a process similar to how runners in a 5K or other race are scored at the finish line.
Goldwasser said the race will include a random drawing for purposes of bird assignments for ticket holders. Each pigeon’s digital equipment will correspond to a ticket number to be logged with pigeons’ arrival, after a flight that usually takes about 90 minutes.
Those buying tickets do not have to be present at the race finish to win, Goldwasser added.
In conjunction with that, breakfast and a viewing party are planned Saturday morning at the central office complex of Mount Airy City Schools on Riverside Drive, to which ticket holders are invited. The breakfast segment will begin at 9 a.m.
The pigeons are expected to start arriving around 10 a.m., with attendees invited to bring chairs and binoculars for viewing. The Rotary district governor for this part of the state, Tommy Rosser, also is slated to appear at the event that will be wrapped up around 11 a.m.
In case of rain, the race will be rescheduled, according to Goldwasser.
Past pigeon races have been quite successful from the standpoint of helping persons in need.
This year’s edition will continue to aid food backpack programs at Mount Airy and Surry County schools, as selected by the Surry Sunrise Rotary members — accompanied by the event being referred to as the Flight for Kids pigeon race.
And Goldwasser is excited about plans of the Mount Airy Rotary Club using its share of the proceeds.
“We have various projects we support.”
She mentioned two in particular related to the race, providing funding toward the cost of a disinfection machine for the Mount Airy Police Department and for a month’s supply of respiratory medication at the Surry Medical Ministries free clinic.
Goldwasser also is grateful for the partnership with Surry Sunrise members which is making all this possible.
“This is the first time Mount Airy Rotary has been invited by Surry Sunrise Rotary to participate, which is a very kind, generous offer on their part,” she said of being able to share in such an established event.
It recognizes the major impact COVID-19 has had on fundraising activities of various organizations, Goldwasser acknowledged.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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