INNISFAIL – The annual Car Show and Rotary Pancake Breakfast kicked off the season at the Innisfail and District Historical Village.
“The official opening was two weeks ago. On May 14 we opened to the public,” said Lawrence Gould, committee chair for the car show and treasurer of the Innisfail and District HIstorical Society. “We always call this (event) our annual opening.”
Twenty-eight cars and antique vehicles were on display during the event on May 26.
In addition, the Rotary Club of Innisfail presented a pancake breakfast with families also enjoying a bouncy castle and local entertainment.
“This is the 15th year we’ve held the car show,” added Gould, noting cars from Innisfail and the surrounding communities were part of the annual event.
Despite the sunshine and nice weather, attendance numbers were down, said Gould.
“The Foothills Model T Ford Club had a major function (May 26), so most of (the local entries) weren’t here. There’s a lot of other car shows today and a lot of other functions going on that people would have went to,” explained Gould.
He noted both registration and admission fees collected went towards the historical village.
“Part of that (proceeds) goes to fundraising. We’re are also trying to raise money for the Sinclair House and that’s an ongoing process,” said Gould. “We need all the money we can get to keep this place up.”
Gould was thankful for community support from visitors and sponsors but would have liked to see more people come out.
It was a sentiment shared by village manager Shawn Pears.
“I was disappointed there wasn’t more of a turnout,” said Pears. “The people that were here were really excited but there really wasn’t a great turnout, which was unfortunate.”
She noted the success with the breakfast and local entertainment.
“The Rotary club was here doing breakfast and they did a fabulous job with that,” she said. “We had Greg Smith (from Innisfail) here making bull riding whips. He is raffling one off to help raise funds for the village.
“The people that were here were very happy,” added Pears.
She noted the exciting season ahead with upcoming events at the historical village, including the annual Mayor and Seniors Garden Party on June 6 and Canada Day celebrations on June 30.
“This is going to be a fabulous year,” Pears concluded.
