My Star of the Year for 2012 is a minefield because there were so many options over the year.
Do you pick a favorite ride, favorite back-story to the ride, favorite restoration story behind the ride or favorite owner of the ride?
The answer is none of the above because old iron is far too personal.
You can’t pick a winner out of the thousands of classic rides that you see in one year because that’s like getting a group of proud parents of 3-year-olds together and picking the best looking kid.
There’s only one ending and taken to its worst-case scenario, it could involve letter bombs…
So the Star of the Year for 2012 is the collective concept known as Car Shows 2012.
The car show is the single biggest showcase for this incredible hobby because it focuses on everything that is positive about old iron.
There’s the nostalgia factor, the family fun factor, the hard work factor, the organization factor, the commitment to the community factor, the contribution to the local economy factor and the cool factor.
These are good basic values and they are always found at local car shows. Essentially you have guys who make major investments in their old cars and trucks pay entry fees to bring them to shows. Those entry fees go straight back into the community and the whole operation is backed up by volunteers with their own commitment to their hometown.
That combination makes for an easy Star of the Year so here’s a look back at some of the car show highlights from 2012.
There were some incredible car shows in 2012 and the season kicked off on May 3rd with the Red Deer Cruise Night. This was a typical early May evening because it was cold and threatening but 300 cars showed up that night. It was partly cabin fever and partly the presence of TV cameras from a national sports network but it did speak volumes about the strength of old car hobby in Red Deer Alberta…aka Motor City North.
May 12th was the day for the Didsbury, Alberta show and this show embodied the best of the small town car show. The town is one long main street beside the railway tracks and these guys really did their homework because that long street was packed from one end to the other with a great mix of vehicles.
June 9th was another favorite on the calendar. This was the Reynolds Museum History Road show in Wetaskiwan. It’s a great show because it’s run like clockwork, it has biplanes flying over the show, there’s a track to see the old iron running and the range of vehicles extends back to 1902.
Olds, Alberta had a show on June 16th that was another example of the incredibly positive small town environment. This show had it all including a Plymouth Super Stock clone but the big mscc story was an US D-Day Army Jeep.
Donalda, Alberta had one of the smallest shows of the summer on June 30th but it was one of the friendliest. They held it in a pasture and if there were awards for hospitality, Donalda would be a top contender. This was a small show but it provided some great stories.
Red Deer, Alberta hosted one of the biggest shows in western Canada from July 30th to August 5th and this was one of those cases where there were too many highlights to list. The weather danced around a few events early in the week but by Friday downtown traffic went back in time about 40 years. The personal highlight was easy…meeting Dennis “My Classic Car” Gage. Dennis is a total pro and he earned this MSCC story.
Bentley, Alberta held their show on August 11th. This is another show that really captures the essence of a good car show…right down to the Drive in Theater on the grain elevator.
Markerville, Alberta is the Canadian equivalent of Mayberry and the only thing missing is Barney and Andy. This show is the equivalent of a small town picnic with old cars as guests. The held their show on August 19th.
High River, Alberta hosted a show on September 23rd and this was one of the highlights of the season for many reasons. The weather was in the mid-summer range and the show itself was off the charts.
There were many other shows across the continent that earned collective Star of the Year status and thanks to contributors, they were showcased in MyStarCollectorCar. This one was a benefit for the Metuchan, New Jersey Rescue Squad and Ben Deutschman sent MSCC a great synopsis of the show.
Dennis Halpin sent in another story about a fundraising car show in Florida for the Semper Fi Fund. This was yet another example of the positive community commitment from car shows across North America.
The MSCC Star of the Year could easily be the ‘Car Show’ every year because they give so much back to the community. This is a small sample of the shows that took place in 2012 and it only reflects some of the car show highlights from last year because there were so many examples.
In reality, the choices came down to one simple question because we’re shallow, simple guys at mscc. Who had the best the best car show hot dogs?
Seriously, on behalf of MyStarCollectorCar, have a great 2013.
Jerry Sutherland
