OLIVER PAIPOONGE – Car enthusiasts found a little piece of heaven on Saturday at the Thunder City Speedway.
Dozens of classic vehicles, hoods popped and owners all to eager to talk about their cars and trucks, were on display as part of the Thunder City Rumble, an event put on in support of Our Kids Count.
Nova Scotian Chad Hiltz, better known to television audiences as Bad Chad, was also on hand with partner Jolene MacIntyre, wandering through the crowd to shake hands and take pictures.
Organizer John Trevisanutto said it’s great to be back after an extended absence.
“The show was on hiatus, obviously, for two years because of COVID. We did bring it back. We used to have it in conjunction with Rib Fest, but to be honest it was so much work for the volunteers, we decided to separate them,” Trevisanutto said, the event taking place two weeks before Rib Fest is scheduled to begin.
“We thought we’d come out to the Thunder City Speedway … (The owners) wanted to see more activity than just racing, so we were happy to do that. Everything we do here is for Our Kids Count. That’s my pet charity and 100 per cent of the proceeds go to Our Kids Count.”
Saturday’s event also features a swap meet, with plenty of vintage motor vehicle-related accessories on hand for attendees to browse through and potentially purchase.
Hiltz, who has 168,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, is best known for Bad Chad Customs, a show that ran for two seasons on Discover Channel.
While primarily there to help support the Thunder City Rumble, Hiltz said It’s also a chance for him to find new ways of doing things and inspiration for some of the projects he’s working on.
“What we do on YouTube, and what we do on Facebook and what we have done on Discover, we inspire others to work on their cars. So I guess it’s more or less feeding off each other and the hobby. Everybody needs that little push to work on their project and get out there and do their thing,” Hiltz said.
“It’s a life thing. Life is hard enough as it is, but to grab on to something, a hobby, to take your brain and think about good things, to make things and to build things. I think that’s what brains are for. I think that people that are into cars are people that build stuff, that want to move forward and keep the brain going in a good way.”
MacIntyre said the car community shows great passion for all things automotive – not to mention having a strong desire to relate to other people.
“It’s a community thing,” she said. “That’s what we like about it. We like coming to car shows and talking to other people. You always have something in common with a car person.”
Trevisanutto said the event has raised at least $40,000 for Our Kids Count, an organization that provides programming and a community kitchen for families in need.
