Toranafest celebrates milestone
The
Holden Torana’s 50th birthday will be celebrated at Toranafest 2017. The Hunter Valley Torana Club’s big bash is set for September 16-17 in Maitland with HDT identities Colin Bond and Ned Nowacki among the special guests.
The ‘Festival of the Torana’ continues to go from strength to strength. It began in 1994 when then New FM radio host Maynard made mention on air of the inordinate amount of Toranas he’d noticed on the road locally. This became an ongoing topic of conversation, especially when Newcastle Torana owners began ribbing Maynard about his VW. Someone then brainstormed the idea of an all-Torana car show, which the station got behind. The first Toranafest attracted 183 entries at Bar Beach and it’s grown ever since.
This year 400 Toranas are expected to join Sunday’s show and shine, from the humble 1.2-litre HB of 1967 to their younger, more muscular brothers, the A9Xs. Other activities include Saturday’s gala dinner and the Shannons Supercruise from Maitland to the historic village of Morpeth. AMC salutes Toranafest for maintaining its original element of fun, in stark contrast to some car gatherings that take themselves too seriously.
Toranafest will raise funds for Ronald McDonald House, Carrie’s Place and Dog Rescue. To support the latter, entrants and spectators are asked to bring a can of dog food. More info at www. toranafest.com.au