By Steve Hubrecht
One of the biggest dates on the Columbia Valley’s events calendar is just around the corner: the Show and Shine Classic Car Show hosted by the Columbia Valley Classic Car Club next weekend.
This year’s show will be the 33rd edition of the long-standing annual event, and the Show and Shine promises to be as big as ever.
Organizers are expecting more than 800 cars this year, said Columbia Valley Classic Car Club member Pete Jensen, adding that the car show has attracted as many as 1,000 cars in the past.
“We’ve heard that a lot of the motels are already booked full for that weekend, and that’s a good sign” said Jensen.
The fun this year will start on Friday, Sept. 15 with the Columbia Valley Classic Poker Run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Show and Shine is the next day (Saturday, Sept. 16) at The Springs course driving range from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a volunteer firefighter’s pancake breakfast at the Radium hall on Sept 16 from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Radium Hot Springs Centre and the Radium Rotary Club will host a Show and Shine dance at the centre that night from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Registration is from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15 or at the gates of the Springs when entering the car show on Sept. 16.
The Poker Run will involve seven stops – at each stop participants will get one playing card. They then use their best five cards as their poker hand. The top three hands will win prizes.
“We’ve got friends who come to be part of the show from Washington State, from Alberta, the Northwest Territories, even from Manitoba. People just seem to love it,” said Jensen.
Part of the appeal may lie in the unique setting, he explained. “Most car shows are on pavement. The Show and Shine is on grass, on the driving range. It’s different and it is beautiful.”
For those who love classic cars “it’s a sort of a sickness. A good sickness,” conceded Jensen with a laugh. “I’ve been into classic cars all my life. As soon as I sell one, I get another . . . some of it might come down to a sort of nostalgia. You see all these old cars driving around Radium and Invermere that weekend, and it looks like something straight out of the 1950s or 1960s.”
The Show and Shine benefits many local businesses, especially gas stations, restaurants and accommodators, noted Jensen.
“We hope everybody has fun and stays safe,” he added.
Radium Mayor Mike Gray is excited to have the car show back, saying that “it is a keystone event for Radium and for the whole Columbia Valley. The fun it brings is great, and the economic impact is a big deal. It’s an economic shot in the arm we are excited to have, especially after this summer (when wildfires impacted tourism).”
The Show and Shine will go ahead weather permitting. For more information visit columbiavalleyclassics.ca/
