Downtown revving up for classic car show
There will be a traffic jam of the best kind in downtown St. Catharines all day Saturday.
Classic car lovers will crowd St. Paul Street for the annual Downtown Classic Car Show, one of the staples on the St. Catharines Downtown Association’s calendar.
“It’s the 15th year for it. If you are a car lover of any kind you will love it,” said Tisha Polocko, the association’s executive director. “We get over 300 classic cars coming out. We get an excellent array of them.”
Admission and registration are free. The show runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
St. Paul Street between Ontario and Court streets will be closed for the event. So will William Street from St. Paul to the entry of the parking garage. Both Queen and James streets between St. Paul and King streets will also be closed.
“We draw a large crowd,” Polocko said. “He have a pedestrian camera, and from that we were able to indicate we get any- where from 10,000 to 13,000 peo- ple for the day milling about. “There is also a large stage right at Court Street with lots of live entertainment; and, of course, there will be lots of restaurants and merchants with their doors open welcoming everybody.
“I know we get people who aren’t necessarily ‘car people.’ They just like coming down to the event. There are a lot of people out and about. It is a fun atmosphere.”
The Niagara Military Vehicles Association will return with its convoy of classic military vehicles, which includes vintage Jeeps and trucks.
Visitors can park for free at city-owned garages and parking lots in the downtown core. The Downtown Association recommends the Ontario Street parking garage or the Garden Park/ Carlisle Street parking garage.
“It’s a family-friendly event,” Polocko said. “We also have a lot of other things going on including a kids area with paint a car. The kids paint a vehicle with their hands, something you can’t do at home. Miller’s Auto donates a vehicle every year that gets painted. We have Niagara Inflatables. There is a lot for the kids to do.”