(Marion) — For decades, Gail Bierstedt Damerau has been one of the people helping hold the Marion and Guadalupe County community together. From livestock shows and fair queens to 4-H and FFA projects, Gail has spent years volunteering and supporting others.
Now, as Gail battles cancer and prepares for a double mastectomy in May, friends, family and neighbors are coming together to support her through the Bustin’ Cancer for Gail fundraiser this Saturday at Vic’s Arena in Marion.
Daughter Dori Damerau says a similar event has been held for years but this year, the event was recognized in total support of Gail.
“It’s quickly become a full day lineup. Every year, this is our annual, we used to call it Bulls and Pulls. We kind of slacked a little bit on it — the last few years due to volunteers and help. But this year, we threw everything back together for a full day. We’re going to start in the morning at 10 a.m. with the tractor pull, and that’s going to be antique tractors, and we’ll have maybe some V8 tractors that show up. Those are little highly modified tractors. We’ll be doing that almost all day. I think we’re expecting close to 100 tractors for that,” said Dori.
Dori says the fundraiser will also include food, raffles and auction opportunities throughout the afternoon.
“Around 11a.m., we’re going to start selling BBQ plates with a cup of tea for $20. And we’re going to sell those until 4 p.m. or until we run out. I have t-shirt pre-orders. You can get those off of the Facebook event. We’ll start our silent auction at 11. We’re going to close that at 4 o’clock. And then, we have a 50-50 drawing. So that’s going to be a 3 p.m. draw. We have five $10 prize drawings. So, we have a shotgun, a pistol, tabletop pellet grill, a weed eater and a chainsaw. And then, we have a $20 bucket drawing that is going to be a two-day two-hunter hog hunt down in Lytle, Texas,” said Dori.
Dori says the evening portion of the event will continue strong as it shifts into rodeo activities and live music.
“When we close out food sales at 4 p.m., we’re going to have the fair queens selling popcorn during the multiple rodeo events that we’ll have. And we’re going to have a DJ from 1 to 4. We have about 50 mutton busting kids planned for a 3 p.m. start on that. And then, we’re going to roll into horses and bulls with Vic’s Rodeo Company at 7 p.m. And I think we’re going to close out our night with Gabe Galvan and Vernon Doege and Friends Country Music starting around 8:30 after the bulls,” said Dori.
The fundraiser will be held rain or shine this Saturday, April 18 at Vic’s Rodeo Arena. Admission is free until 4 p.m. and $10 afterward, while children 10 and under will be admitted free. Vic’s Rodeo Arena is located at 511 FM 465 in Marion.