A block party is scheduled on Main Street in Knox early next month for a worthy cause as a number of downtown businesses have stepped up to play a part in raising funds for the Eric Corey Foundation, sponsoring the Turkey Tracks event planned for April. The Turkey Tracks hunt, designed for handicapped and terminally-ill hunters, gives them a chance to do something they love that they might not otherwise be able to do.
The late Eric Corey first organized the event which allows guides to help handicapped hunters search and harvest turkeys during the three-day excursion. Eric Corey passed away in 2012 after fighting ALS for several years. His parents, Carol and Doug Corey, keep the event going to honor his wishes. Carol Corey said Turkey Tracks is an all-expenses-paid hunting excursion, and the block party is just one endeavor to fund the event.
“The block party will benefit Turkey Tracks Hunt, Eric Corey Foundation, and what we do is we take hunters in April for a turkey hunt and we pay all their expenses, including their motel arrangements, their licenses, and all the food, and we invite their family as well. We like for it to be family-oriented, and it’s for a whole weekend. They get to hunt with an experienced guide and they go out and they hunt turkeys,” said Corey.
Last year, more than 30 handicapped hunters made the trip to get out in the field and bag a bird. Corey explained the event came into being through a conversation with the owner of Mikey’s Pizza in Knox.
“Mikey’s Pizza has been excellent about trying to help us. He’s helped us now for the last five years; he usually supplies all the pizza for the hunt in April for the Saturday afternoon meal, and he kind of wanted to do something else this year and, being that there wasn’t a festival or anything going on, he thought maybe we could have a block party, and percentages of all the proceeds that it brought in, it would go back to Turkey Tracks to help us out with our hunt next year in 2014,” said Corey.
The block party is planned for Sept. 7 from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. and features a three-on-three basketball tournament and pizza eating contest sponsored by Mikey’s Pizza, as well as a cornhole tournament and poker run sponsored by O’s Tap. The Moose Lodge will have a food both available, while the fire department will host a car show.
On top of that, Corey explained one of their hunters, Colton Cole, has the dream of becoming a standup comedian, and he will be opening for the DJ with a comedy show.
The event takes place on Main Street, where two blocks will be closed off in front of Mikey’s Pizza and the Moose Lodge.
