Just in time for the coming Calgary school year, more than 3,000 stuffed backpacks will be handed out to families in need. The Owen Hart Foundation is back with its latest annual giveaway, setting up on Saturday, Aug. 15, at Trapped Escape Room. Between 9 a.m. and noon, backpacks full of school supplies, dental hygiene products, stuffed animals and snacks will go to those who need them. Martha Hart, the foundation’s director, says it’s “a great event.” She says it’s great for kids, who leave “inspired to go back to school” and “happy because they’re getting stuffed backpacks.” And she says it’s great for parents who are struggling. “Especially in our dire economic climate right now and with all the problems that we’re having on so many levels,” Hart told CTV News. “It’s really helping families. “It’s one less thing that they’ll have to worry about.” Hart says the giveaway is meant to feel like a community gathering rather than a handout event. She says there will be music, balloons and popcorn, as well as stuffed-animal giveaways. Trapped Escape Room is located at 1139 Kensington Rd. N.W. Hart says she’s already looking ahead. “For next year, we’d really love to be able to provide the kids with fidget toys,” she said. “A lot of kids these days are anxious, so these little fidget toys really help them to kind of calm down. “We’d like to be able to include that in our backpacks as well.” 27 years of giving The Owen Hart Foundation is celebrating 27 years. Tickets for a Nov. 21 performance by Elvis Costello at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium go on sale Thursday through Ticketmaster. Special meet-and-greet packages for Costello’s show are available through the online Hart Auction. The packages, which include a pair of VIP show tickets, VIP reception access and a meet-and-greet with a photo, are among some $80,000 worth of prizes up for auction. Owen Hart died May 23, 1999, at the age of 34, in a stunt gone horribly wrong during a WWE (then WWF) show in Kansas City, Mo. The foundation was created the following year in his honour. It runs several signature events, and many community initiatives throughout the year. It has helped in the areas of education, affordable housing and international aid for vulnerable people.
