RAIN OR SHINE, CAR SHOW MUST GO ON – AND IT DID
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
GRAVENHURST — It wasn’t exactly convertible weather Saturday — though there were a couple of rag tops on hand at the Gravenhurst Chamber of Commerce Car Show.
And while manager Sandy Lockhart considered throwing in the towel at 8:30 this morning, with a steady drizzle and only a couple dozen cars and trucks on hand compared to a few hundred at this time last year, to the credit of her and her dedicated team they didn’t.
Not with dozens of volunteers and vendors on hand, including Mayor Paul Kelly and the newly-honoured Dr. Gord Durnan working the gate.
No, as they say, they show must go on — rain or shine.
And it’s a good thing they did.
While the numbers were down everywhere, antique and classic cars continued to pour in throughout the morning. Not in the same numbers.
But what the lacked in quantity, they more than made up for in quality.
And without sounding too glib, it did offer the brave car buffs who weathered the off-and-on rains a little more elbow room to manoeuvre and see almost all the autos without interruption.
And to take photos.
While the organizers were at Gull Lake Rotary Park by sunup — and some like muffler king Ron Chiasson were sporting plastic garbage bags while checking in vehicles — so were a few entrants.
John Attridge was out of bed at 4:30 a.m. in Collingwood, so he and his wife could hit the road at 6 a.m. to come show off his 1964 Chevy pickup.
They got here at 8 a.m. — “we just drove at 50 mph,”
And they had their choice of parking spots, just out in left field beyond second the third base.
It wasn’t a field of dreams for motor heads, but if you’re into hot rods and the like, it was still enjoyable.
No line-ups for those great Lions hot-dogs, you could get an NBA champion Raptors logo painted on your cheek, a free photo and see some great car and truck paintings by an artist from Aurora.
Scottie Dunlop kept the music playing (no Burt Bacharach and Raindrops Keep Falling on Your Head).
And by late mid to late morning and noon there was sufficient enough activity to make a visit worthwhile.
Even to the ice cream truck — believe it or not — who kept serving to occasional customers.
Gravenhurst firefighters and Muskoka paramedics opened their trucks for tours and gave out great little spiels on CPR — a two-minute “Hands-On” talk about how to save a life in an emergency in two easy steps.
Call 911 and begin immediate chest compressions if the person isn’t breathing.
Stayin’ alive is the goal until help arrives.
Even at 2 p.m. when it was quietening down a few groups of people, umbrellas in hand, were still coming in dribs and drabs.
The trophies were all handed out — with most of the drivers having a pretty good chance at driving away with an award.
But the prize has to go to Lockhart and her chamber friends and volunteers who put on a nice little show start to finish that even Mother Nature couldn’t beat.
