On a picture-perfect Sunday (Jan. 21) afternoon, Lumby鈥檚 west salmon trail parking lot was filled to the brim with attendees ready to watch the annual Outhouse Races.

The Lumby Outhouse Races were a swirl of a good time on Sunday afternoon!

鈥� Vernon Morning Star (@VernonNews)

It was the third consecutive year that the outhouses were raced, and according to organizer Darren Schmidt, it was their biggest and best yet, with 20 outhouses registered.

鈥淲e had 10 last year, so it was double the size,鈥� said Schmidt.

The idea of an outhouse race came from the Monashee Trail Society, which wanted to get more people outside in the dredge of winter.

鈥淲e just wanted to see people smiling,鈥� Schmidt said. 鈥淲e thought that Lumby would rally around the event. Thinking about our community, as we have a lot of hardworking people, we thought that they would come together and put together some creative entries, and we have certainly seen that over the last couple of years. 鈥�

The event was so successful this year, that Schmidt is going to be looking for a different, larger venue for 2025.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how many people were here but we were obviously close to capacity at our location. We were just so thrilled to see families come out and people of all ages just wanting to enjoy people race outhouses.鈥�

The winner, who was gifted the honour of the golden plunger, was outhouse Butt Hut, who defeated TP Electric in a thrilling final race.

The Vernon Fire Department, Vernon RCMP and numerous other organizations and businesses created outhouses that were raced.

The Carnival Toilet Trotters, made up of members of the Vernon Winter Carnival competed in three races. Its final one, in an energetic battle, saw its outhouse tip over but was able to get back up and finish with pride, according to Kris Fuller.

Kids and adults clamoured for a view of the races along the parking lot and highway, with hot chocolate and warm chilli being served by donation.

鈥淲e are just so thrilled to see so many people out and having a smile on their face,鈥� Schmidt added.

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