On August 5, Rue Ste-Marie in Sainte-Clotilde will be closed off for a vintage car festival. This event came to be because the municipality of Sainte-Clotilde approached Guy Fermon, a town resident with a passion for vintage cars, and asked him to help organize an event for the town. Originally, they asked him a few years ago, but he was too busy with work. Now that he is semi-retired, he is more available to take on opportunities like this.
The town and its leisure committee met with Fermon at the end of last year and they decided to do this car show as an event for the community. The town invested some money into the festival and Fermon raised approximately $6000 for the event as well. Fermon has been a big car buff for many years, so this kind of event is perfect for him to be spearheading. “It’s been 42 years that I’ve been in the car business. I’ve had an old car since I was 19 and I’m 61 so it’s been a while. I know a lot of people,” he says.
Fermon traveled across North America for various car shows over the years and has even built his own vintage car garage. “Six years ago, I built a garage that’s like a museum on my property. The building had the look of the 1950s, [with] an old gas station with the old pumps… Over the past 40 years of going everywhere I’ve collected a lot of car stuff. I have a vintage snack bar, a jukebox, and pinball machine.”
The festival will begin at 9 a.m. However, starting at 7 a.m., local farmers will be serving breakfast to people who arrive early. There will be a DJ playing music at 7 a.m. as well. Admission is free for both visitors and exhibitors.
When exhibitors arrive, they can park their cars and then register if they would like to be a part of the participation prizes. Fermon says that residents along Rue Ste-Marie have agreed to allow exhibitors’ cars to be parked on their land as part of the show.
Approximately $2000 in prizes are available for those who register. There will be music and a bar along with food available throughout the day. Fermon adds, “We reserved the Rock ‘N Boogie orchestra; they’re a great group who does music from the fifties, sixties, and seventies.” There will also be parking available for campers.
The proceeds from the event will be donated to the church in the town. Fermon emphasizes that events like this are for the community: “The importance of these events is that we help our community. We’ll help the church; we know that the churches in the region are in financial difficulty.”
He also hopes people get excited about the town and spread the word about it. “We’ll have people get to know Sainte-Clotilde in a new way. It’s good for the people, it’s good for the town.”
Fermon wants to say how grateful he is for all of the sponsors of this event. He also mentions the 60 volunteers who are involved. “Without volunteers there’s no show. So we want to thank them.”
It is expected that approximately 500 cars and 2000 people will be present at the inaugural festival.
