Sunday, July 21, 2019 ~ VICTORIA
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
The perfect summer weather and the grandeur of the Inner Harbour setting mixed with the uniqueness of a old-time hot rod car show with free admission was tourism magic today Sunday July 21 in downtown Victoria.
As the primary organizers of the 2019 Northwest Deuce Days event, Destination Greater Victoria (formerly Tourism Victoria) will undoubtedly be thrilled at the success of today’s crowdpleaser (on top of three previous days of casual events such as a greeting at the Coho Ferry and a Poker Run through Langford, as well as more glamorous events such as a gala dinner at the Victoria Conference Centre).
Tens of thousands of people poured into the area today for the 10 am to 4 pm display that organizers started setting up at 4 am. For a walkabout among the toys of the wealthy, at no cost to the spectators, this was a treat like few other public events in the core area of Victoria in recent years (other than more structured public events such as Canada Day).
The tourism boon produced by Deuce Days this weekend is primarily what the owners of almost 1,400 pristine vintage cars will have spent in town — hotels, restaurants, events and all manner of souvenirs.
But there will also be the lingering tourism effect of the high-profile exposure of downtown Victoria as a place to spend time, both to those well-heeled visitors who may return for future vacations, and for all the others (presumably mostly locals) who did the walkabout today along Ship’s Point, Wharf Street, Government Street, Belleville and area surrounded by boats in the harbour, well-known hotels (including The Empress and Hotel Grand Pacific), the BC Legislative buildings, and the Royal BC Museum.
Today’s ambiance included a big audio blast of 1950s and 1960s old-time rock and roll, street vendors selling art and other wares, balloons for the kids, food trucks, and of course some Northwest Deuce Days swag including T-shirts and souvenir licence plates.
People of all ages walked and mingled. There were older folks, families with kids in strollers, teens, and everyone in between in terms of level of interest and evident lifestyle. Such a broad draw is again a bit of that tourism magic.
There was some security presence (a bit in the crowds, and on the steps of the legislature) but it was not overly imposing. In a city the size of Greater Victoria this ability to walk freely and enjoy the day as it comes is a treat that perhaps Canadians can’t be faulted for taking a bit for granted. We enjoy such freedoms and today was a celebration of that at some level.
Car owners in many cases hovered close by to their vehicles, some with lawn chairs to bide the hours in a bit of comfort.
These vehicles are obviously the pride and joy for the collectors who own them. Some car owners — on a moment’s notice — would remove dust from the painted surfaces of their vehicles with a long-handled soft-cloth mop.
There were almost 1,400 cars on display. About 90 percent of the display registrants are tourists, with about 100 car owners being from the South Vancouver Island area. Some of the deuce and pre-1951 vehicle owners arrived from California, Oregon, and other parts of the USA. At least one owner was here from Australia, having shipped his vehicle ahead of time by boat. Other guests are from New Zealand, and Finland.
The investment to make such a trip to Victoria is substantial. The downtown hotels were full with guests who arrived with their vehicles. The cars were parked in hotel parking lots during their stay in town.
The sponsors list for the day’s event gave top billing to Peninsula Co-op, Lordco Auto Parts, City of Langford, and Downtown Victoria Business Association. Other sponsors included the City of Victoria, The Market on Yates, Hotel Grand Pacific, and Camosun College in addition to a collection of smaller services.
Yesterday about 500 of the Deuce Coupes took a Poker Run from Clover Point out to Langford and toured through the streets of Langford (including Veterans Memorial Parkway, Sooke Road, West Shore Parkway, Langford Parkway and Jacklin Road) before making their way to Goldstream Avenue for a festive pit stop at the fountain area.
Langford Mayor Stew Young was pleased with the turnout at the Goldstream Avenue pit stop. “The cars were great and there was good support from residents,” the mayor said. A couple of thousand people came out overall to the Langford event (including folks set up further out with lawn chairs on Langford Parkway and Jacklin Road) to cheer on the drivers who were clearly proud of their vehicles.
The last time Northwest Deuce Days was held in Victoria was in 2016, organized by Al Clark. “I’m a hot-rodder. But I appreciate all the cars. Vintage, and original,” said Clark who has built hot rods for a living for 25 years.
In all, Clark has been coordinating Northwest Deuce Days for 21 years. The first show featured 100 cars, so things have definitely evolved.
This larger 9th Northwest Deuce Days was pulled off at a higher level of promotion with the support of Destination Greater Victoria including online registration, coordination with the hotels, and professional promotion to the media and the business community.