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The 2025 Justinsane Barbie Car Classic in Ardill is held every year in memory of Justin Kowalski, and this year they raised $20,000 which will go towards youth recreation in and around the town of Mossbank.
“It all started when my nephew was killed, Justin Kowalski, on Highway #2,” explained organizer Kari Wolitski. “We didn’t want anybody to forget him, and he loved kids, absolutely adored kids and had a blast playing with them, and he used to fix up and race old cars that were just beat up, and he’d go and crash them and wreck and just do crazy things. When he died, we decided, ‘Let’s start raising money for our town, for kid’s recreation, in his name.’
“It’s now the 9th annual Barbie Car Classic, we call it, we’ve got lots of interest already, we have some big sponsors this year, and hopefully we’re going to be bigger and better than last year.”
The event was helped by generous sponsors Steffes Auctioneers, live auctioneers for the Calcutta event; Big Beaver Brewing, whose founder is from Mossbank and was a friend of Justin, brewed and canned a custom beer for the event; and returning sponsor, there from the beginning, Dale & Lisa’s Farm & Auto.
Wade Ariss enjoys attending the event to remember his friend, meet up with the community, and raise some money for a good cause.
"It's a good memory of Justin and the energy that he brought to the place, and obviously it supports the community," Ariss said. "I've been here since the start. I missed a couple years for a biking trip and work, but I've been at it since the beginning. Me and Justin actually grew up together, so I couldn't imagine not being here, to be honest, and it is a little bit of a rough sport, but it's a lot of fun."
[gallery photos by Country100's Avery Leblanc)