LEWISTON — Before participants in this year’s Dempsey Challenge pedal their first mile or sight their first famous face, a roster of events already will have raised thousands of dollars for the challenge and its mission to help people affected by cancer.
Pre-challenge events this year include a two-day comedy festival, a musical horse dressage competition, a 5-K run/walk, an auction, bottle drives, bake sales and even a corn maze with a design sculpted to resemble the challenge’s logo.
“It’s people in the community that are creating these different independent fundraising events,” said Tish Caldwell, fundraising coordinator for the challenge, which officially begins at 7 a.m. Oct. 12 and ends about 33 hours later on Oct. 13.
Unofficially, the events are starting sooner, becoming better organized and they’re having an impact on the challenge’s effort, Caldwell said.
“It’s definitely a chunk of the million-plus dollars that is raised each and every year for the challenge,” she said. “These events over the years have gotten more and more sophisticated. We’re just blown away by the size.”
For instance, the “Kur for a Cure” is a daylong class and competition for horse riders who will choreograph a horseback demonstration to music at Safe Haven Farm in Durham.
This year, its third donating to the challenge, the Central Maine Dressage Association event aims to raise at least $1,200 that will be matched to encourage volunteer efforts by young people.
“It’s gotten bigger every year,” said Susan deGozzaldi, who leads the Kur for the Cure. It is scheduled for Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m.
It started simply as a response to riders’ own families who were touched by cancer, particularly deGozzaldi’s father, Philip.
“My trainer started it up because she saw what I was dealing with,” deGozzaldi said. Her father died in January 2012.
Similar stories led Sherman Farm in East Conway, N.H., to create a corn maze with the “stand-up to cancer” theme.
They also led several Boothbay residents to create a 5k run/walk — the Harbor Run — with all proceeds going to the challenge and The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing.
It even convinced Mark Turcotte, the center’s spokesman, to use his growing sideline as a stand-up comedian to raise more money.
Last year, he hosted at charity comedy night at the Fireside Inn in Auburn, and it did extraordinarily well.
“The place sold out at 200 tickets and we made $1,200,” he said. “I was so inspired by the support from the community.”
It gave him the confidence to make it bigger.
“I’m looking at this festival as a showcase for stand-up comedy in New England, especially in Maine,” he said. “I think we have a lot of funny comedians in Maine.”
He founded the two-day Lame Comedy Festival, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Turcotte managed to secure a lineup of 16 comics from around New England to perform over consecutive nights at the Fireside Inn in Auburn. Among them will be George Hamm, a regular opener for Bob Marley.
And they’ll all be doing it for about $20 each.
“I have no doubt that if I contacted every comedian and ask them to do it for nothing, they would,” said Turcotte, who will emcee both shows and performs Friday along with Hamm. “I think they deserve to be paid. Some guys are coming from Boston. Some are coming from Rhode Island. I want to cover their gas and tolls, at least.”
For a full listing of the Dempsey Challenge-related events see www.dempseychallenge.org/calendar for times and other related information.
dhartill@sunjournal.com
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