The MyStar guys are huge fans of small-town car shows.
There’s a massive amount of community spirit at these events and Mirror, Alberta, Canada is a shining example of how small towns host an event.
Jerry Sutherland
Mirror gambles with the weather every year because they host it on the Victoria Day weekend. That’s a huge risk because weather can still be a beast in Central Alberta.
As James Taylor once said, ‘I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain’ at the Mirror car show—everything from hot and sunny; to hot and smoky; to rainy and nearly snowing. That’s how spring in Alberta works out.
This year was typical. The rain was threatening, but it held off until the parade was over. The parade itself is a big piece of the event, and they get the local emergency services to front and back the parade.
They also get the Shriners on mini-cars and a pipe band to showcase the parade. Dogs are also a big part of the event—and a few horses.
Mirror gets serious buy-in from local car guys because they are happy to showcase their old iron in the parade.
The small-town main street is the perfect venue for a parade because it brings classic cars to a street lined with buildings that are at least 60 years old.
I like to rate car shows by the hot dog scale. If the local charity sells a good hot dog at a decent price, it makes the car show an automatic winner—Mirror got an A+ rating.
The old iron numbers were down this year at Mirror because of the weather–but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm because this is a big event for a small community.
Jim found a mint 1967 Plymouth GTX at Mirror. This car was so nice you could use it as a blueprint for a 1:24 scale model.
The owner bought it recently and he doesn’t abuse this classic muscle car. He upgraded a few things to make it that much more spectacular. This car will be featured as a MyStar owner’s story later this summer.
Jim also spotted a 1961 Chevy Impala two-door sedan at the show. This is a rare version of the Impala name and it’s a serious road warrior.
He’s put 45,000 miles on the car, so it easily makes MyStar Road Warrior status. That’s what makes the grade for the MyStar guys—the best part is how he much he retained the stock look in a resto-mod car.
The last future MyStar story is a 1940 Ford street rod.
This car also retained a stock-ish look that hid some serious upgrades. It too, is built for real miles in the real world.
Mirror, Alberta rolls the dice every year they host this show because they fight the weather gods. They do this every year because they’re riverboat gamblers and every year it pays off with a solid example of a small-town event.
It’s true—only the strong survive.
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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