This year’s DeWalt Canada national tour is intended to raise awareness not only of the firm’s new line of professional power tools, but also of the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada’s fund-raising needs

A caravan of seven bright-yellow DeWalt vans, led by a Dodge Ram pickup, will leave Halifax Aug. 2 and wind up in Vancouver on September 30.

Along the route, the cavalcade will storm into towns and cities to stage ‘how-to’ demonstrations of DeWalt power tools at hardware stores, building centres and construction sites.

Part of each demonstration is the ‘DeWalt Challenge,’ a competition in which participants compete against one for prizes, drilling holes or cutting lumber with DeWalt tools.

This year, each participant will pay an entry fee of $1, to be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. As well, picnic tables and other items built during the demonstrations will be auctioned off to raise money for the charity. Advertising will include regional radio promotions giving advance notice of the events.

DeWalt is using the 1996 van tour to launch its new 18-volt cordless power tools, the industry’s first cordless tools designed to meet the power requirements of professional builders.

The first products in the new line are three cordless drills and one circular saw. DeWalt is a division of Black & Decker.