Classic Chevy Weekend - 2007
by Gary Porter, pictures by Jeff Kempton and Gary Porter
As the Classic Chevy Club’s fall outing drew near (I know, technically it was still summer), the Weather Network was forecasting beautiful weather up until and after Saturday, September 15. However, rain was predicted for Saturday, the main day of our annual get-together. Meteorologists seem to have a better success rate when forecasting bad weather, rather than good.

Friday was a beautiful day as predicted. We enjoyed a leisurely drive to the Valley in the ‘55, making a few stops along the way and arriving at the Mid Valley Motel around mid afternoon. After a refreshing swim in their pool, it was off to supper. Upon our return a few other members had arrived and a few more trickled in a bit later. We all spent a pleasant evening catching up and talking cars.

Saturday started out fine. The Weather Network continued to predict rain for later in the morning and heavy rain in the afternoon.

While some club members gather in Sackville on Saturday morning to travel to the valley together (above left), those of us who arrived on Friday, Saturday morning was a chance to relax and enjoy a favourite beverage (above right).
Here are Merlin and Ann Marie en route in their latest ride, a big block pro street ‘68 El Camino. The rain held off long enough for everyone to arrive without getting their cars too dirty.
By late morning, the remainder of club members attending the weekend arrived, just ahead of the rain. That was a good thing. In total 33 members with 13 cars attended. It is not unusual for us to get rained on. So between the hospitality suite and several 10' x 10' awnings, we were able to cope with whatever Mother Nature could throw at us.
The guys socialize outside (above) while the ladies prepare for the penny auction in the hospitality suite (right).

As the rain begins, the awnings go up. Rick and Brent make sure Terry does a good job (below)
This event is also our annual fund raiser for charity donations at Christmas by the club. After everyone was settled in, the penny auction took place. This was followed by a pizza for all.
Keeping dry (right)
Once everyone got their fill of pizza, the regular auction was held with auctioneer Doug Fulmore ably handling the task while wife Tammy kept track of the winning bids. The auction netted more than $1,400.
The rain eventually subsided and the rest of the evening was spent socializing. Normally you can count on at least some of the members of the Classic Chevy Club to party on into the night. However, by 11:15 p.m., all was quiet.
We awoke on Sunday morning to a beautiful day. Car drying was the first order of business. However, a run to Tim’s was a close second. The September club meeting was held outside in the sunshine. By late morning, farewells were said and it was time to go. While some headed home, several of us continued on to Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Park in Bridgetown to take part in the show and shine for a few hours before we too headed for home.
 
Although only 17 of the club’s 91 memberships were represented at the weekend, I think it was still successful. We raised more than $1,750.00 just among ourselves for charity. However, just socializing with old friends was, as the MasterCard ad says “priceless.”
A lot of effort goes into planning this event and I’m sure it is a little disappointing to the organizers to have such a low percentage of members turn out. While there will always be those who have to work or have other commitments and can’t make it, don’t let the rain stop you from having a good time. Let’s see if we can have a record attendance at next year’s Classic Chevy Weekend. Date and location T.B.A.