Car enthusiasts are gearing up for the fifth annual Classics in the Country car show returning June 11 to Grafton, Ont.
Organizer Paul Hicks said money raised from the event supports Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, specifically the Grace Bowen Childhood Cancer Fund. It’s named after a local girl who died in 2015 at the age of nine after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma a few days before her ninth birthday.
She had major surgery and aggressive chemotherapy, but died 11 months later.
Prior to Grace’s death, the SickKids Foundation released a video which features the girl and her family during her treatment at SickKids Hospital.
“She had the same cancer as Terry Fox,” said Hicks. “She went to school here in Grafton and it’s a community thing and this community sticks together with everything.”
Over the years the event has raised more than $25,000 for the foundation — a testament, Hicks said, to the strength and spirit of a small town.
“The generosity of everybody’s heart is what we are looking for and we just want to raise more funds, so no one has to go through this again,” he said.
Hicks said in past years they’ve had nearly 200 cars at the 10914 County Road 2 property and, he said, the more the merrier.
“The cars that come from our show come from all over,” said Hicks.
“Toronto, Kingston, Peterborough, a couple of years ago we had a guy come from Florida.”
Hicks said he will have a car on site, a 1949 Ford, lovingly named Betty Ford. Others in the lineup include a 1928 Chevy, a 1930 Ford, a replica of the car from 2007 action thriller Death Proof and more.
“It’s a 1980 Cutlass Supreme,” said participant Calvin Stewart as he showed off his ride. “It was the car I wanted as a kid, back in the day, but I couldn’t afford.
“Actually, I can’t afford it now, but I bought it anyway.”
Across the lot, Glenn Elder was getting his car ready for the show too. “It’s a ’57 Belair,” he said. “You see the ’57 a lot in advertisements because of the back fins.”
It is $20 to show your car and $5 to attend the event, Hicks said this year they are planning live music, food and prizes. The Classics in the Country Car show runs June 11 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, you can find the event on Facebook or call (905) 431-5940.
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