Even as urban planners devise policies to cleanse city centres of fossil-fuel-burning vehicles, car shows continue enlivening streets and parks across Canada.
For those who romanticize the automobile, the sun shines brighter on these days.
First comes Father's Day. In downtown Toronto, or in Edmonton, or Mission, B.C., among other communities, generational gawking – grandfathers and grandkids accompanying dear old dads – has become a tradition.
The Yorkville Exotic Car Show closes Toronto's Bloor Street between Avenue Road and Bay Street, with a red carpet down the middle and more than 100 cars – among them a Lamborghini Aventador, a 1955 Volkswagen Beetle, a black Camaro ZL1 on the model's 50th anniversary – arrayed on either side. Of the 90,000-plus spectators expected – with 30,000 on site at any given time between noon and 5 p.m. – many arrive by subway.
There's no charge, but Prostate Cancer Canada benefits from sponsorships of the individual cars. David Elsner, the show's executive director, says $200,000 has been donated since Phil Downe founded the event in 2010 with Porsche and Ferrari club members showing their cars along Yorkville and Cumberland.
At Mission, 80 kilometres southeast of Vancouver, antiques stir memories just as Yorkville's exotics fuel fantasies. Old Car Sunday in the Park is in its 25th year, with Variety: The Children's Charity, its charity.
Owners showing their cars and trucks – 1,333 last year – drive into Fraser River Heritage Park, paying $10 to register. Spectators arriving on free buses from the West Coast Express lot pay no admission but are asked to donate.
Edmonton's Father's Day Show & Shine bills itself as the day's largest free event, claiming 500 cars and 7,000 tire-kickers in 2015. Porkapalooza in Clarke Park and the Fort Edmonton Park barbecue serves up scrumptious food, but even the barbecue is free along with entry to the grounds at Celebration Church.
As the summer heats up, festivals in Moncton, Brandon, Man., Granby, Que., and Oshawa, Ont., generate some of the busiest weeks of the year for hotels and restaurants.
Moncton has become an annual mecca for many hot-rodders from central Canada and points east. The Atlantic Nationals Automotive Extravaganza, July 6-10 "is easily the city's largest annual festival," says Jillian Somers, of Moncton Tourism. Of the 34,500 estimated attendees in 2013, surveys indicated 24 per cent were from out of province while 28 per cent were New Brunswickers who'd driven in from outside Moncton.
In the prairies, the Super Run Western Canadian Nationals, July 26-31, circulates annually among Saskatoon, Red Deer, Alta., and Brandon. It begins with daily drives, including a two-hour trek on Tuesday to Heaman's Antique Autorama at Carman, Man. Come the weekend, 650 to 800 hot rods can be expected at Brandon's Keystone Centre, attracting 5,000 or so spectators, says Super Run chair Russ Dayman.
In Quebec that same weekend, the Granby International anticipates attendance of 30,000 and more than 2,000 cars – largely classics, but including hot rods and a scattering of neo-classics.
Anything goes at Parc Daniel-Johnson on Lac Boivin. A 1983 Chevy Cavalier trumped a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass as one of more than 40 class winners last year. Prior to this blue ribbon, Cavaliers had only earned black dots in the Consumer Reports reliability ratings. Equally refreshing, a 1962 Volkswagen Beetle pipped a 1985 Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign. More conventionally, a 1931 Cadillac Phaeton won its class and the president's award.
Oshawa's Autofest, Aug. 19-21, opens on the Friday with Kars on King, 4-9 p.m., promising 400 classics and live entertainment. At Lakeview Park, some 1,500 registered vehicles are anticipated Saturday and Sunday in Muscle Mania; Up-High Down Low Truck Nationals; and Old Skool Reunion categories.
A 1968 Camaro SS is this year's prize in the North Oshawa Lions Club raffle, 50 years after Camaro's introduction. It's an emerging classic and a permanent connection to the era when smog, gridlock and road carnage were only beginning to be addressed, when cars only had to look good and run better.
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