Drive-by Classic Car Parade for Canada Day
By Charlie Senack
While Canada Day festivities have been cancelled at Clarke Fields for a second year in a row, a drive-by classic car show will be vrooming down Barrhaven streets on July 1.
The car show will begin outside the new Hampton Inn and Suites located at Strandherd and Tartan, before travelling to the Via Barrhaven Retirement Home located on Tartan. The classic cars will then travel down Tartan to Exeter and Wessex, before going down Greenbank to Highbury and Via Verona. After driving by the Multi-Face Housing, also known as ‘The Haven’, the cars will go to Revera Barrhaven and then the Court of Barrhaven. The cars will then travel down Longfields and Beatrice before arriving at Longfields Manor and then Revera Prince of Wales. Finally the classic cars will drive by Carleton Lodge before parking outside the Barrhaven Heart and Crown. The full route map can be found on the Mattamy Homes Canada Day in Barrhaven Facebook page.
This is the second year a classic car show drive by has been held in Barrhaven. Last Canada Day, a similar event was held after Canada Day celebrations were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keith Goebel, who organizes the yearly classic car show at Clarke fields, says they are always looking to find ways to support the community. With seniors feeling isolated due to the pandemic keeping everyone apart, they wanted to drive by all six retirement and long-term care homes in Barrhaven. He says it’s a way to connect seniors with their past.
“We always want to try and do something for somebody else,” he said. “If somebody else can enjoy the day, whatever we can do be it with classic cars or Canada Day, it’s important we do it and get people out to enjoy the day and the classic cars.”
Darrell Batraw, who organizes the annual Canada Day celebrations at Clarke Fields, says it’s disappointing festivities have had to be cancelled for a second year in a row. When the fair and events are able to take place again, which will hopefully be in 2022, Canada Day in Barrhaven will celebrate their 40th anniversary.
“We never would have thought last year when Canada Day was cancelled, that it would be cancelled again this year,” he said. Unfortunately because of the pandemic and all the new strains of the virus, it made holding any big celebrations impossible.”
“We are really looking forward to 2022 when we can hopefully bring events back, and because they have been gone so long, I think people are going to be coming in droves to all of our future events, and we hope to make them all bigger and better than ever.”
Goebel says depending on the success of this drive by car show, they may hold another classic car-related event in the summer, saying restrictions allow.
“If we can because of the restrictions being loosened, maybe we can do a mini car show somewhere in July or August, just to get everyone together again and see everybody, because we have been restricted in the house for so long, and just talk, mingle, and look at the cars,” Bartraw added.
From the start of the route until the end, it’s expected the full drive by car show will last about 40 minutes. Bartraw and Goebel are encouraging everyone to step out onto their front lawns and driveways to wave at the cars as they drive by. They are also encouraging everyone to wear red and white and fly their Canadian flags to celebrate the country’s 154th birthday.
