Magna Announces the 19th Annual Wild Wild West Hoedown!

AURORA, ON - Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - The Hoedown, sponsored by Magna International Inc., is York Region’s largest annual community fundraiser and has raised several million dollars for a number of worthy community causes over its 19-year history. Each year, thousands of local and regional residents gather under the big Hoedown tent for a mouthwatering Texas BBQ dinner, foot-stomping country and western music, and old-fashioned fun, Hoedown-style - all in support of a good cause.

This year’s Hoedown will take place on Saturday, September 16th at the Magna campus in Aurora and will feature Canadian country music stars Corb Lund, The Good Brothers and Diane Chase.

In addition, as part of this year’s festivities, the Hoedown is holding its first ever “Hoedown Showdown” (www.hoedownshowdown.com ) to find Canada’s NEXT GREAT country star. Contestants will compete for the grand prize by performing before a live audience and a panel of celebrity judges. The first two rounds of judging in the Hoedown Showdown take place on Wednesday, August 30th and Wednesday, September 6th at the Graystones restaurant and bar in Aurora, Ontario. The Hoedown Showdown winner will be selected in the final round on Wednesday, September 13th, 2006. The winner will receive $2,500 in cash and a one-of-a-kind Gibson guitar, as well as the opportunity to perform live before 3,500 people at the September 16th Wild Wild West Hoedown. The winner will also perform before an exclusive crowd at the Gibson Recording Studio in downtown Toronto in October 2006. The runner-up will win a Gibson guitar.

Contact: Dan Donovan

Vice-President, Public AffairsMagna International Inc.

Tel: (905) 726-7182

Email: dan_donovan@magna.on.ca

2006 Hoedown Entertainer Profiles

Corb Lund

One of Canada’s hottest country acts, Corb Lund is known for its upbeat and fun sound, which combines traditional western and acoustic stylings with innovative lyrics. The band won the 2006 Juno Award for “Roots & Traditional Album of the Year” and also captured the “Favourite Folk Artist/Group” honours at this year’s Indies, the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards. Corb Lund’s video for “Hair In My Eyes Like a Highland Steer” hit number one on CMT’s Top Twenty Countdown in May, and their video for “The Truck Got Stuck” took home the Best Music Video award at the Alberta Film and Television Awards. The band has even gone Hollywood: it played “(Gonna) Shine Up My Boots” in the movie Slithers.

The Good Brothers

The Good Brothers were inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004. Bruce Good and twin brother Brian, together with younger brother Larry, have been playing together all of their lives. During a long and highly accomplished career that spans three decades and 14 albums, The Good Brothers have won eight consecutive Juno awards for Country Group of the Year, recorded a self-titled double gold album, and took the Canadian Music Week “Independent Album of the Year” award in 2003 for One True Thing. Other achievements include a gold record for their 1981 album The Good Brothers Live and a CHIMO Award for the Top Country Act.

Diane Chase

Diane Chase is completing her third CD, slated for release later this year. Her first single, “In The Middle of Something”, zoomed into the top ten on the country music charts and she has had a number of top twenty hits, making her one of Canada’s top country female artists. She has earned awards for Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2000 and 2002 Ontario Country Performer & Fan Association Awards, and has received numerous Canadian Country Music Association nominations. Last year, she was part of a tour that entertained Canadian troops stationed overseas in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf. Diane is a resident of Aurora.