Our 20th Annivery event! It is amazing to think that we have been doing this for 20 years!

Another glorious day greated our many loyal "Picnicers" and many new faces and cars on August 8th 2005

Cowichan Valley Car Picnic

20th Anniversary Cowichan Valley Car Picnic
Selected Prize Winners

August 8, 2005

Some 250 classic and collector cars from southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland gathered on Sunday, August 7th, at Brentwood College in Mill Bay for the 20th Anniversary Cowichan Valley Car Picnic. This annual event is now one of the largest and longest-running car shows on the Island. According to Car Picnic spokesman Mike Bieling, "We organized the first Car Picnic in 1985 because at that time, there didn't seem to be as many car shows in the summer as there are today. A few of us who owned old cars felt we needed an excuse to do something together with them, and came up with the idea of taking a drive in the country and stopping for a picnic somewhere along the way. I understand that there are other car shows that started well before ours, but some have had interruptions and we've now held the Car Picnic for twenty consecutive years. In fact, a number of our organizers, among them our MC, David Saville Peck and our Treasurer, Sherry Deptuch, have attended all 20 picnics, and several of Sunday's participants, including Duncan's Brian and Sharon Prior, also claimed that distinction and were rewarded with special prizes."

"As usual, about half of the participants were Car Picnic buffs that we can depend on to turn out every year, rain or shine, and the others were a mix of cars, trucks, and other vehicles that were new to us, and fascinating to see. Nowadays, just as many entries come from Victoria and the South Island as do from the Cowichan Valley, so we get to see a lot of classic cars that have been acquired by collectors down there, especially British sedans and sports cars. The presence of the Victoria MG Club, the Austin Healey Club, the Jaguar Club of North America, and of numerous Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, Alvises, Triumphs and other English cars was particularly notable and attests to this local heritage. But that's not to say that North American classics were by any means under-represented at the Picnic, with an impressive number of Cadillacs, Fords, Packards, Chevrolets, and Dodges included in the show. These were of all vintages, ranging from straight-from-the-factory original condition, to every kind and degree of customization, from street rod to low rider, and from high performance racer to boom box on wheels. My all-time favourite car, Lee Gould's 1949 Cadillac 6207 Sedanet, an incredibly elegant black two-door fast-back coupe that sports the earliest, tiny Cadillac tailfins, was up from Victoria again. Teardrop trailers, which I remember fondly from family camping trips when I was a kid, made something of an appearance this year, with Joe Ball of Duncan bringing out his 1946 teardrop, towed by his 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan, and Becky Rogers of Sidney showing her vintage home-built teardrop towed by a 1971 Chevy Nova. She won the 'Home Away from Home Award' for this combo. A third teardrop trailer was present as well, and then there was Roger and Valerie Barrie's 1974 MGB convertible from Victoria, which tows a trailer made from the rear half of a matching MG, very correct-looking and well-made."

Says Bieling, "The oldest car at this year's Car Picnic was a 1914 Cadillac 7 Passenger Touring Car, owned by Jim and Melanie Morley of Nanaimo, which was also voted the Second Place People's Choice by the Picnickers. The newest car registered was a

20th Anniversary Cowichan Valley Car Picnic
Selected Prize Winners - Page 2

2005 Mazdaspeed Mazda MX-5 (no Miata badge for this muscular performer!), owned by Doug Fraser of Saanichton, but there was a red 2006 Mercedes-Benz SLK 350 Coupe/Roadster on hand that bore a sign saying it was the first and only example of this new model on the Island. Cars came from all over the Island, from Sooke to Qualicum Beach, and those that came the farthest were Les Garbutt from Vancouver, who brought over his 1995 Jaguar XJR supercharged saloon, and Dave and Edie Gagneaux of Delta, who showed their 1937 Nash Lafayette."

Other selected prizewinners ay Sunday's Picnic were:

People's Choice Award, 1st Place: 1955 Ford Crown Victoria
Ken Searle, Victoria, B.C.

Naval Award: 1952 RCN Naval Patrol Jeep
Brent Blakely, Victoria, B.C.

Car with the Biggest Fins: 1958 Dodge Mayfair
George Pastor, Lake Cowichan, B.C.

Squashed VW Award: 1964 Porsche 356C
Roy Thomas, Victoria, B.C.

PT Cruiser Award: 1939 Fargo Panel Truck
Marg and Tom Murchie, Duncan, B.C.

Green with Envy Award: 1988 Honda CRX
Conan Chee, Saanichton, B.C.

Best-Dressed Hood Ornament: 1949 Triumph Roadster
Norm and Ettie Scott, Sooke, B.C.

The Great Pretender Award: 1927 Bugatti Replica
Vance and Vera Horn, Duncan, B.C.

The organizers of the Car Picnic congratulate all of these winners and thank the many participants and spectators who made our 20th Anniversary Car Picnic such a success! Thanks also to the media in Victoria, Duncan and Nanaimo for publicizing the Picnic, and to Jim Sakawsky of Shawnigan-Mill Bay Auto Parts, as always, the most generous of our supporters. Other local merchants who donated prizes were Ennerdale Engineering, Speedy Auto Glass, Berk's Intertruck, Valley Vines to Wines, the Blue Rose Garden Centre, Super Seven Cars, and the BCAA.

To find out more about the annual Cowichan Valley Car Picnic, visit our website at www.cvcp.ca, E-mail us at wetcoastnewfs@shaw. ca, or call Mike Bieling at (250) 748-5031.