I live in a subarctic climate, so the car show season in Alberta, Canada ranges from late April to early October.
There’s little to no margin of error for weather either way in that range —unless you’re okay with a blizzard as part of the entertainment.
Places like Arizona and Florida start their car show seasons in the fall because they fight blazing temperatures in the summer—but in Alberta we close out the year in autumn.
Jerry Sutherland
I wanted to do a mid-summer assessment of how things have gone in the 2025 car show season.
First, I want to talk about the weather. A sunny day is a car show’s best friend but this year that best friend has gone rogue.
The first show MyStar went to was in Didsbury. They had a decent day—I’ve been going to that one for years and it’s been on the brink of a snowstorm a few times.
2025 was better—the sun stuck around, and they had a good event. The weather gods were kind to Didsbury.
They were less kind to the folks in Mirror.
Mirror had a sunny day, but there was a stiff wind from the north—and in Alberta a stiff wind from the north means you’d better unpack that snowmobile suit.
Drumheller was luckier later in May.
They’ve had some great shows thanks to their location in the Alberta Badlands. The Badlands are essentially a desert and Drumheller lies in a valley–location is the key to success.
Springbrook hosted a show at the Red Deer Airport, and they had a good day for a show,
This show hasn’t been consistent with the annual part of the equation, but they had a sunny day. They also had some vintage airplanes to add to the party.
Three Hills hosts an annual show in early June, so every year they roll the dice with weather.
I’ve seen this event rained out a few times but this year they had great weather and that made this event soar in 2025.
Delburne hosted a Father’s Day weekend event in June.
That show had decent weather, and it’s set on the main street right next to a park—those are assets.
The next weekend was a road trip to Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
This was a monsoon-like run because there was driving rain and insane winds on the first day–so the car show in Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan was cancelled. That’s become the theme to Summer 2025.
There was another show the next day in Melville, Saskatchewan.
That one was just ending when we got there, but Jim and I managed to get two stories out of the event. They dodged some rain, but Melville pulled it off.
The next weekend was back in Alberta in Sundre.
This show has doubled in size since they relocated it to the rodeo grounds. It’s an all-grass venue set in the foothills and it’s well-run—that’s their key to success.
Camrose hosted a show the next weekend and they were lucky because they had a sunny day—you typically race bad weather home in the afternoon at Camrose.
This event is set downtown, so it has a 50s vibe to go with the well-maintained older buildings. This year was a good one for entries.
The Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin hosted a show the next weekend.
They got the weather and turnout for a solid event—this show used to be in June, but the rain drove them into July. It was a good move.
The next weekend was another road trip to West Kelowna, British Columbia for their event.
The rain was relentless going there and coming back, but the event stayed dry—that was a big asset. It’s a cool little show with a solid lineup of cool cars and trucks.
This brings us to now. So far, many events have been rescheduled or cancelled this year because of the brutal weather.
That’s not an asset and the people who organize these events are the victims—hopefully, the rest of the car show season goes better.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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