Canada Day in Hope will swap the hot dogs and flag waving crowds for classic cars and celebrating in family and friend ‘bubbles,’ yet the day will not go unmarked even amid a pandemic.
On Wednesday, July 1, classic cars will be making their way along a 20-kilometre loop around Hope. Scott Medlock, district councillor, Lordco manager and organizer with the Hope Motorsports Group, said he got the idea for the classic car, hot rod and motorcycle cruise when he was sitting at the drive-thru at Dairy Queen.
“I saw about 10 or 12 Shelby GT Mustangs come around the corner one Saturday afternoon,” he said. “A couple days later I saw a whole pile of Subarus driving by my store. So then I really started thinking about it.”
The cruise will be one of the few events for car enthusiasts taking place across B.C. this summer. Normally chock-a-block full of car shows, the events on autoeventslist.com and Carnut Corner are now a long list of cancellations. The only other cruise taking place is August in Kamloops, “but we were first” with the idea Medlock laughed.
He said he’s reached out to 50 or so clubs in the Lower Mainland and Okanagan and has heard a lot of response back. With an attendance of 150 to 250 cars during the regular Canada Day festivities he said he hopes to see that many or more drive to Hope this July 1.
It’s a chance for car enthusiasts to have a beautiful drive in to Hope and show off their vehicles to locals. It’s also a chance for Hope to show off what it has to offer, even though Medlock said visitors are not being encouraged to hang out at shops or food service establishments. When they get to Hope, they will get a map of the route and start their cruise. The route passes through downtown, out to Kawkawa Lake and Silver Creek.
Anyone who wants to watch the parade is being encouraged to find a spot along the route, provided they stay in their family and friend ‘bubble’ and practise physical distance with everyone else.
This will be Hope Motorsports only summer event, as the car show and the Summer Smash race and derby are cancelled.
What may happen during the Brigade Days weekend and with the Pumpkin Smash are anyone’s guess at this point, although Medlock said the club is ready to put something on for the Briggie weekend if larger gatherings are permitted.
After the cars cruise by, people can check out virtual Canada Day celebrations at canada.ca/canada-day.
Get decked out, ahead of Canada Day
Ahead of July 1, residents across Hope and Electoral Areas A and B are being invited to show off their patriotic craft skills by decorating their homes, businesses, their sidewalks and themselves to celebrate Canada’s birthday.
Hosted by the Fraser Valley Regional District, the decorating contest will be open to area residents leading up to July 1. Winners will be chosen in the following categories: best dressed, best decorated (residential) windows, best decorated (residential) outdoors space, best decorated business and best sidewalk chalk art. Winners will get prizes and all those who enter also get their names put into a draw for prizes.
To enter the contest, all you’ve got to do is take a photo and include your name and contact details. Email your photo to leisure@fvrd.ca by July 1. The photos, the FVRD says, must be family friendly and can’t include alcohol, cannabis or coarse language.
If you’re not into decorating your whole house, you can always just ‘fly your flag’ by grabbing the Canada flag on the outside of this week’s paper and putting it up in your window.
The car cruise takes place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 1. You can find a route map on page W 2&3 (the back of the Canada flag on the outside of the June 25 edition of the paper).
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:
emelie.peacock@hopestandard.com