(this may not seem like it’s about racing…but taking race cars to car shows is a way we plant seeds for the next generation of race fans, officials, and drivers…)
Fenders, as we call it, has been a part of our summer for many years. I first took a car (the Sky) to it in 2012. Despite an imperfect forecast, car and crowd turnout were great this year.
In the Campbell-Hamilton household, the annual Fenders on Front Street car show starts a 5:00 AM alarm. We drop the first couple cars around 5:30 AM, and then run back up the hill to get a few more. This year we took three Sprites, the Sky, and the Fiero.
Our usual spot in Front of Las Margaritas was in accessible due to major sidewalk construction rather poorly timed by the city. With possible rain in the forecast, we picked out a spot in front of the Kid’s Stage theater, which features an overhang.
This year we stashed one car nearby on Friday night, so with help from Thea, we had all five cars parallel parked before Front Street closed at 6:00 AM. Rob Westcott joined our row with his immaculate Sprite, so the Cascade Austin Healey Club was represented entirely by Sprites for the first time in recent memory. Just a few feet away the Tyee Triumph Club showed up strong with at least a half dozen cars.
For many years we’ve eaten breakfast in the basement of the nearby Eagles Aerie. It’s basic, but makes a good start to the day and is a tradition. This year, however, they were 15+ minutes late opening and word filtered down the line that they’d changed things up for ‘breakfast burritos’. It was enough for us to change things up ourselves and we hopped into Levitate, which was wisely open early, for food and mimosas.
By the time we got back to our cars, around 8:30, people were already strolling along Front Street taking in the show. The first time I checked the time it was 11:30 and the next time I checked it was 2:30: The day flew by, despite some short-lived sprinkles. Car turnout seemed great and the crowd was certainly great. We were so busy at our cars that I never walked the show. #12 was featured on a very smart “Scavenger Hunt” card the organizers passed out to kids in attendance. We, led by Thea, had a great time talking about the cars, getting folks into them, and chatting about opportunities to experience vintage racing, from audience to race official, to crew member, to getting behind the wheel.
At 3:30 or so, with cars leaving and the crowd thinning out, we shuffled four cars home and I brought the trailer down to load up #12. But the sun had broken out, so I parallel parked it and had a beer. Brin and Thea joined me, we trailered the car home, then Brin and I took the Sky to North Bend for dinner.
