Today we went out to a charity event that married two ideas - I was looking for a patient and family experience for my dialysis patients that would give them a day away from their realities and Danny, now of the Virtue Foundation, was looking at starting a foundation - together the annual event has been called the Renal Rodeo for the past 10 years. It is not a rodeo in the traditional sense... but rather a stunt rodeo that has volunteers from the stunt and movie industry... how cool is that???? Up until this year the only way to get an invite to this event was to know someone that was on hemodialysis in the Fraser Valley. This year we opened the doors to share with Big Brothers and Sisters and the Zajac Ranch.
I hope you enjoy some of the photos that came out clear enough to upload.
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working high above the crowds this lady from 'Underground Circus' here in
Vancouver demonstrates a Cirque d solie type silks performance |
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| we go to all lengths for exposure. Here Above the Law (Able) is meeting 18 month old Billy the grizzly bear. |
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| Billy |
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| Ari, too, gets introduced to Billy |
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| Danny works grandson of the 'Black Stallion' from movie fame |
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| wrestlers were on hand to delight the crowds and put smiles where they belong |
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| Billy with Mark and Dawn from Beyond Bears have been a part of this event for 9 of the 10 years. This is Billy's first experience with a crowd of people like this. |
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| can you believe, 18 months and he's already taller than I am? He is so soft. And look at those nails!!! |
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| If you look way in the back there are Ari and Able watching the motor cycle stunts and explosions below |
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| I was talking and missed the fire cannon going off with this performance, the puppies just kept on playing |
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| Danny's son, Clayton, is set on fire and walks around by the crowd. It is not possible to tell you how hot he is. The flames don't touch his hands because of flame retardant material, remember this is Hollywood dreams they are sharing |
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| ok so there is an elephant prop from another movie and Able has to peek at the world from this vantage point |
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| Ari is enjoying the memorabilia too. My camera misses so many awesome shots because there is such a delay on the flash ;-( |
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| Tony and Ari with some sort of stage coach |
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| the twisted sisters posing on the same stage coach |
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| Tony and Ari on the more traditional western stage coach |
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| and we have the new rides too!!! the girls are sitting off the road side here while these quads and motorcycles preform their stunts. I thought of running out of the way a couple of times but not them.... |
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to end the afternoon's entertainment they have some huge, loud explosions. here is a sequence.... watch for the horses running off in the distance
For anyone of the Neon Rider generation, this was where it was filmed. |
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| on the veranda of the big house there are guests enjoying the hospitalities of Danny and Charlotte's famous post event BBQ |
And the puppies just played through all this noise and ground shaking. Sometimes I swear they are deaf...
There was so much more to see and be a part of that I don't have photos for but the day was exhausting for the puppies. Ari actually tried to crawl up into the back of the car to get to her crate so she could nap. Tony and I got home and had a 3 hour nap.
A big THANK YOU to Danny and Charlotte Virtue and the Virtue Foundation, Eli - Danny's right hand man, Mark and Dawn of Beyond Bears, the many stunt volunteers that entertained us throughout the day, the volunteers that manned the BBQ and fed all of us, the Vancouver Ambulance Service that kept a just in case ambulance on hand for the day, the volunteers that organized the volunteers and handed out t-shirts to all and the patients, families and staff that came out to make sure this was the best show ever!!!
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