Most people in the old car hobby are well aware of the tremendous contribution that car shows make to the local community.
These are volunteer driven events that raise funds for everything from MS research to local fire departments across North America.
Car guys know that a significant percentage of registration fees ends up in the hands of local projects and charities so a local car show is an easy and very positive way to help your local community.
The Red Deer Alberta Cruise Night is a classic example of how much a car show can help out a local organization. The organizer of the show is Dave Burden and he has moved the location four times since 2007 because it keeps outgrowing the venues.
The byproduct of that success is that the Red Deer Food Bank has a weekly audience with thousands of potential customers per month.
It’s paid off because the show now raises over $60,000 per year for the Food Bank. Those are badly-needed funds that help fill a vital need in a city of nearly 100,000 people. Fred Scaife is the Executive Director of the Red Deer Food Bank and he pointed out that the Cruise Night is the single biggest source of continued annual revenue for the organization.
MyStarCollectorCar benefits heavily from the Red Deer Cruise Night because there are hundreds of old cars and trucks on display every week during the car season. That translates into some classic material for the “story behind the car” pieces that you see every day on the site.
That’s why we felt like giving back to the community via this car show.
We have files full of pictures-nearly 100,000 images of old cars and trucks. Most are good but some are spectacular, so we decided to release a very limited series of prints that define the old car hobby.
These are pictures that will never be replicated because you can’t go back to that exact moment in time when the shot was taken. The sun, the moon, the stars have to align perfectly to make the cut in this collection or…subject, light and background. Any photographer will tell you that best shots are based on sheer luck, not talent.
The first print of the ‘Lost Dreams’ series is going to the Red Deer Food Bank.
This is #001 of 100 and it’s a ’59 Ford Thunderbird that’s an ex-dirt track racer at the local track (Crossroads Speedway). The main sponsor on the door was the late, great Windsor Hotel. Locals knew the place as a notorious biker bar where best behavior was a theory more than reality but they did sponsor this classic old T-Bird dirt track car…
The old stock car, the Windsor Hotel and Crossroads Speedway are all gone but the image of this old classic will live on forever.
This print is going to be up for silent auction on 4 consecutive Red Deer Cruise Nights. That means if one is rained out the next week counts as the next Cruise Night. Freddie and the gang will have the picture on display for the shows and the silent auction sheet will also be there.
We are going to start the bidding at $200.00 and we’d like to thank Terry McCrindle at Big Guy Automotive for purchasing this picture and donating it to the Red Deer Food Bank.
This will be the first of two silent auctions this season because “Challenger Dave” from the Red Deer Cruise Night relies 100% on donations to stage this weekly show and he has overhead that comes out of his pocket to offset the expenses.
We’re going donate a second ‘Lost Dreams’ limited edition print to the Red Deer Cruise Night for the 2nd silent auction and the entire proceeds will go directly to Red Deer Cruise Night.
Stay tuned for that one but here’s a hint-Challenger Dave is a huge Mopar guy.
Jerry Sutherland
