The Daily Item (Sunbury) published an article about the Elk Toss.
Elk Toss raises money for charity
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.”
