The 2018 Airdrie Summer Classic – presented by the Time Travellers Car Club of Airdrie – will take over Nose Creek Park Aug. 11, providing an excellent opportunity for anyone who loves cars and supporting great causes. “The purpose of the show is to have a venue for people to show off their cars…[but also], the goal is to raise funds for local charities, and that’s what we do,” said Keith Miles, chairman of the car show. Miles said this year, organizers expect between 450 and 500 vehicles to take part in the annual show and shine, and they anticipate at least 5,000 spectators to traffic the event. According to Miles, the long-running Airdrie Summer Classic has been going on for more than a decade. “It actually started with a car club out of Calgary,” he said. “Two members from that car club started the car club here, and the club here eventually took over the car show. Somewhere between 2003 and 2006 is when our car club took it over.” This year’s all-ages event will start at 10 a.m., with plenty of food options and vendors all day and live music beginning at noon. A vintage sling shot Top Fuel dragster owned and restored by Calgary’s Brantt Inglis – the show’s feature car – will be on display. A timed engine-building competition will thrill automotive enthusiasts, and the event will also include a portable dynamometer, or “dyno.” “You mount a vehicle on the dyno, on a trailer, and it measures horsepower and torque of the vehicle that’s on the trailer,” Miles said. “Participants at the show can pay a fee and dyno their vehicle.” The Classic will run until 3 p.m., at which time awards will be handed out for the top 10 cars, top three motorcycles, and the winners of the engine-building competition. Other awards include top horsepower, best engineered, best paint, mayor’s and people’s choices, and club attendance. Anyone wanting to show off their vehicle can register at a cost of $15. Show day registration will take place between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m., but Miles recommends preregistering Aug. 10, at the Hampton Inn & Suites between 6 and 9 p.m. “Last year, we did a preregistration on Friday night so that it’s a little easier to get everybody into the park on Saturday,” Miles said. “This year, in conjunction with that, we’re also going to do a poker run.” Entry to the poker run costs $10. The event will begin at the Hampton Inn & Suites and wind its way through Airdrie with stops at Nose Creek Park, Airdrie Honda and Auto Value, before concluding at Davis Chevrolet. At each stop, participants will draw a card out of a deck. The card will be recorded on a scorecard that participants carry to each location. At the end of the poker chase, each participant will have drawn five cards, making a poker hand. The top three poker hands will receive a prize – 25 per cent of net proceeds and a trophy for the best hand, 15 per cent of net proceeds for the runner up and 10 per cent of net proceeds for third place. “We’re hoping it gives people kind of a cruise through the city,” Miles said. “The cruise is about 18 kilometres. We figure it should take probably 45 minutes, from start to finish.” Each year, the proceeds of the Airdrie Summer Classic benefit local organizations. “This is a charity car show, so the proceeds of the show will go to five charities that are chosen by the club,” Miles said. “We choose those five charities once a year; it’s not always the same charities.” Since 2012, more than $100,000 has been raised for Airdrie charities through the event. All proceeds from this year’s event will go to the Airdrie Food Bank, Veteran’s Food Bank, Tails to Tell Animal Rescue, Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue and Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. There is no entry fee for the event, but spectators are asked to bring donations for the food bank.
