Crusin’ for Cora benefit set Saturday at Legendary Lanes

Huntingburg residents had a direct way to help Cora Hopf on Saturday: show up at Legendary Lanes, register a vehicle, or buy dinner and raffle tickets for a child whose family says a rare brain cancer diagnosis has already brought surgery, radiation and a clinical trial in Boston.

Crusin’ for Cora was planned for 11 a.m. at Legendary Lanes, 104 E 13th Street in Huntingburg, with registration beginning at 9 a.m. The benefit was open to jeeps, trucks, cars and motorcycles, and the $30 entry fee included dinner, a raffle ticket and a bracelet. Organizers also said the event was rain or shine, with raffle and pork chop dinner tickets available to people who did not want to join the Jeep Poker Run itself. Donations were being collected for a raffle and silent auction, with tickets slated to be available around April 6.

The fundraiser was built around a family facing a long medical haul. Cora was diagnosed in July 2024 with a very rare form of brain cancer, according to the family’s GoFundMe, and her treatment has included successful brain surgery and 30 rounds of radiation. The family said she had entered a clinical trial in Boston that will require 64 trips over the next year, while Jeff stepped back from work to manage medical appointments and the household strain that comes with them. They said the family has already leaned on meal trains, rides to practices and Girl Scouts, family photos, hotel help and pet care.

Saturday’s turnout was only the latest sign that Dubois County has been rallying around Cora for months. Jasper Arts displayed Cora Rose Hopf’s artwork at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center from March 16 to March 29, and Legendary Lanes had already been recognized by the Dubois County Chamber of Commerce in January for facility updates and child-sized bowling shoes, underscoring its role as a neighborhood gathering place. That made the benefit more than a cruise or a meal stop: it was a local response to a medical crisis that still carries heavy travel and treatment costs for the Hopf family.