Originally started by Deb Stoski of the Downtown Business Association, the Innisfail Weekend of Wheels has been a popular family event in the area for many years.
Deb and her volunteers did a great job building the car show to its current popularity. In fact, a number of Kinsmen members have participated in the past, with John Jackson's Scooby Mystery Machine winning an award a few years ago.
When we heard this year's event was not running, it was brought to the club to see if there was interest to carry on the Weekend of Wheels under the Innisfail Kinsmen and Kinettes. It wasn't a hard sell as we had a number of good reasons to see it continue.
Having a couple of car enthusiasts was the catalyst to move things forward, as we didn't want to see the car show disappear. Next, the event provided an established platform to bring awareness of the Innisfail Kinsmen and Kinettes clubs, as well as providing a potential fundraising opportunity.
In addition to the Show & Shine on Saturday, Sept. 10 at John's nofrills, we are excited about bringing back the 100-foot shootout on Sunday, Sept. 11 in front of the Arena on 42 Street. This will return us to the “Weekend” of Wheels.
Both events are popular for participants and spectators alike. The car culture in Innisfail and Central Alberta is strong with enthusiasts coming from all over to show off their wheels.
Families from near and far can come to our wonderful community and enjoy spending time together while viewing some awesome vehicles. We'll have food vendors at both locations so families will have a place on site to get their meals or they can take advantage of the offerings of any of our local restaurants.
With today's economic conditions, families are looking for ways to spend time together without breaking the bank. This weekend is perfect for that! On Saturday, the car show is free to all spectators with participants only paying $10 to register their vehicle. Then on Sunday for the 100-foot shootout, the entrance fee for spectators is only $5 each with accompanied children under 12 admitted free. Drivers in the shootout can register for $25 per vehicle.
We are hoping to grow the Weekend of Wheels and have everyone mark this weekend on their calendar every year going forward. The more successful we can make the weekend, the more we can give back as proceeds from fundraising events stay in the area and support our goal of “Serving the Community's Greatest Needs.”
The timing worked out well for our first Innisfail Kinsmen & Kinettes Weekend of Wheels as the Town of Innisfail recently granted our clubs the honour of being the lead fundraiser for the skateboard park.
All proceeds from this year's Innisfail Kinsmen & Kinettes Weekend of Wheels will go directly to the new skatepark.
Russ Klemmer is a director with the Innisfail Kinsmen.
