Daily Item Article

The Daily Item (Sunbury) published an article about the Elk Toss.

Elk Toss raises money for charity 

By Justin Strawser

MOORESBURG — A convention of elk tossers gathered on Saturday for festivities and raising money for charity.

After being canceled for the past two years because of COVID, the Annual Elk Toss, Charity Auction, and Winter Festival — perpetually in its 75th year — was hosted by the Danville German Society at the farm of co-founder Van Wagner. All funds raised on Saturday benefited the nonprofit homeless shelter Gate House in Danville and the Jana Marie Foundation in State College.

“This is something we’ve done for many years,” said Wagner. “The Danville German Society is really just a fun group of people who want to have a lot of fun for a good case. Over the years, we’ve really gotten involved with the Gatehouse. That’s the charity that gets the most passing from our group. They really appreciate what it’s all about, helping families who need housing. That’s what we all rally around. Once you have a cause, you have a good group of people, the rest of it comes together.”

Opening ceremonies started at 11:30 a.m. at the farm just off Route 45. The events and auction followed at 12 noon. Activities included Elk Bugling, Scrap Iron Toss, Salad Toss, Block Shoot, Beard Contest, Puppet Show, and Skateboard/Scooter Competition. A charity auction was held between events.

The activities culminated with the 4 p.m. Elk Toss. The event ended at the Old Forge Brewing Company with live entertainment.

Husband and wife Paul Dennehy and Franny Geller, of Danville, attended the event for the first time.

“It is everything I had hoped for,” said Dennehy, who wore a motorcycle helmet with antlers.

“Me, too,” said Geller, wearing sausage suspenders. “I am very grateful for the chance to dress up weirdly and hang out with people who have idiosyncratic tastes.”

Dennehy and Geller judged the Elk Bugling contest. Both used their careers in biology to assess the contestants.

“We clearly had opposite strategies,” Dennehy said.

“We did,” said Geller. “He chose the very aggressive, dominant call, and I chose the slightly less intimidating one.”

“I’m just literal,” said Dennehy. “He said ‘I’m an elk,’ and I said, ‘That’s an elk.’”

To break the tie, Wagner consulted the rule book, which dictated that a “double elk bugle criss-cross” must result in a competition of river dance.

Cindy Powers, the program director at the Gatehouse, said it was her first year at the Elk Toss.

“It’s a beautiful day to be outside,” she said. “What a neat gathering. I love it. It’s fun and it’s something to break up the winter. It feels good to be outside and it’s for a good cause.”

Powers said the community is supportive of the homeless shelter.

“The community is why we’re there,” she said. “It’s a community effort. When we have a need, we let it be known, and it’s there. It’s hard sometimes because we’re helping people who are in dire straights. On the flip side, I get to see the generosity of the community. Why not have fun while we’re doing it?”

Mike Espinosa, of Lewisburg, helped Wagner auction off the items.

“This is a great event for community causes,” said Espinosa. “This is a real grassroots way for people to make a difference in their community. It’s a great way to get people together and bring out efforts and finances together to make that difference.”