Gail Therrien has been coming to the Kinsmen Club’s car show for years as a patron, dreaming of one day participating with her own car.
This year, that dream came true.
“My husband bought me a car for my birthday last year: a 1966 Mustang,” Therrien told The Lake Report.
She brought her Mustang out to the Kinsmen Scout Hall in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Sunday to take part in her first-ever car show, the annual Show and Shine event.
And she wasn’t alone: countless hobbyists and car lovers filled the Kinsmen grounds.
Club member Ken Slingerland estimates a crowd of 1,500 people in attendance with around 425 cars outside the scout hall.
An estimated $10,000 raised at the show will go toward the Kinsmen Club’s local community projects, most notably Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
“We’ve got more volunteers, which is fantastic, and again the Girl Guides, which we support, were able to show up and help us this year,” Slingerland said.
Despite a bout of rain toward the end of the show, Therrien was feeling all sunshine.
“It’s hard to imagine that some of these vehicles were on the road before I was even born: the variety amazes me,” she said.
The community that gathered around the show was a highlight, Therrien said.
“It’s an unwritten rule that everyone respects your vehicle: you feel like you’re in your own backyard,” she said.
Bill Gouthro and Mike Savoie, who both brought their hot rods out to the show, shared the same sentiment.
“Normally a group of friends — we all know everybody — gets together and we come every year,” Gouthro said.
Savoie travels to a handful of different car shows but for Gouthro and others, the NOTL Show and Shine is an annual highlight.
The two Niagara Falls residents have always been interested in cars. Savoie works as a mechanic and owns three other show cars.
For this year’s show, Savoie brought out a 1979 Chevrolet El Camino and Gouthro showed off his 1968 small block with only 23,000 miles on it.
Steve Mercier from Niagara Falls brought out his Ford F-100 truck, which he’s had for 35 years, to show off all the improvements made over the last three decades.
“It’s been through many changes. It used to be a lifted truck with big tires, I decided to lower it and try something different,” Mercier said.
Everything he knows about cars he learned from his stepfather.
“There was no TV and stuff back then, so he would bring me out to the garage,” Mercier said.
