The Okotoks Show & Shine is moving locations this year.

It's an annual event from the Kinsmen Club of Okotoks that acts as a fundraiser for various local causes and is typically held in downtown Okotoks.

This year, however, they're having to shift gears.

The 2023 iteration of the event will be held in the parking lot of Seaman Stadium.

Show & Shine co-chair, Blaire Davis, says holding the event downtown requires at least 120 volunteers due to the area's many intersections. 

He says volunteers are in short supply this summer.

"The car show footprint being downtown requires a lot of bodies per shift, to make it run. I would start the morning off with one or two people downtown at 4 a.m. getting ready for the show and ending at 6 o'clock at night. That's a 14-hour day. We've always tried to have more than one shift so we could spare people off to enjoy the show and do whatever, so ideally you'd have three different shifts so you're not working 14 hours."

A few locals who usually take on leadership roles in the event are also unable to be involved this year.

"This year, due to circumstances, we've also lost some key role players that held key positions within that volunteer program to head up leadership roles. About four key people are in retirement, one is on a cross-Canada tour, and other people have family that are active in competitive sports and different things."

Before landing on the new location, there was talk of skipping this year's event altogether.

"To a bunch of us in the Kinsmen, that was not an acceptable answer, but we also knew we couldn't run it downtown, so through negotiations, we were able to find another location, being Dawgs Stadium, where we could have only two access points to the facility rather than 10 or 20 access points, we have in the downtown core. Every one of those access points requires two people to man them to control the safety of the area."

He believes the venue will allow the event to function at around the same without compromising size or space.

The plan is for parking at the stadium and along Don Seaman Way to be available by donation of at least $5 for the Okotoks United Church kids lunch program, and parking will also be available at Bill Robertson Park.

Davies estimates they'll still need 40-50 volunteers to run the event, and they're already looking ahead to next year's show.

Those interested can get in touch via the Okotoks Show & Shine website.