THUNDER BAY –The roar of powerful motors will take over the north downtown core next month.
As part of the fourth annual Ribfest weekend from Aug. 28-30, Our Kids Count and the Waterfront District BIA are hosting a trio of classic car and motorcycle events to complement the saucy delights.
Volunteer John Trevisanutto said the Thunder Bay Lake Bike Show and Excalibur Motorcycle Games on Saturday and then the Red River Rumble car show on Sunday will be held on Red River Road, as the city will close the roadway between Court Street and Cumberland Street
“We’re expecting upwards of 30,000 people so it’s one of the larger events that’s taking place in the community,” Trevisanutto said.
“We’ve had it on other streets and we’ve sort of been in the shadows so this is going to be a really great opportunity and will have an opportunity to showcase more of the BIA businesses in the area.”
Our Kids Count executive director Gladys Berringer said fundraising events such as these help the organization ensure programs are run year-round and to provide extra support for families.
She said the goal is for the entire weekend to raise between $40,000 and $50,000.
“We’ve really narrowed our focus on food and food security,” she said. “We do that through providing a whole range of community kitchen opportunities for families, older adults and men.”
While the motorcycle events are long established, the introduction of the Red River Rumble is a new addition for this year.
Berringer is hoping for about 100 antique cars to enter, with the top-10 selected by the public receiving prizes.
For many of the owners, these classic cars and motorcycles are their pride and joy.
“They’re pretty proud of their machinery. When you look at some of the iron around here people have invested a lot of money in their bikes and they’re very proud of them and they like to show them off,” Trevisanutto said.
“If you look at every bike they’re all quite unique and it’s the same with the cars. A lot of people that build their cars from ground up or if they buy them they’re buying what was their dream car when they were 15 years old and couldn’t afford it and now they get to my age and they can afford it and they enjoy driving around and showing it off.”
The weekend will feature a special appearance by Horny Mike from the History Channel’s “Counting Cars” series. He will be available to sign autographs from noon until 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
