CALGARY — City road crews have begun sweeping winter’s gravel from the streets, and that’s a sure sign spring has sprung.
Another sure sign that warmer days are here is the return of Spring Thaw, the first large vehicle show and shine of the season.
Hosted by the Nifty Fifty’s Ford Club of Calgary, Spring Thaw has reached a milestone with the 30th annual event happening on Sunday, April 26.
“That 30 years represents a pretty big number,” said Nifty Fifty’s past president John Moore. “For some of the people who have been here since the beginning that’s a hard number to digest – from the show’s birth through all of its growth to what it is today – the show has a life of its own now.”
Spring Thaw welcomes all makes and models – classics, hot rods, customs and antiques, from Chevy Camaros to Dodge Challengers to Ford Model Ts. The only stipulation is vehicles must be 25 years old or older.
According to Moore, the show routinely brings out close to 500 vehicles for the single day event. Record attendance was set in 2010 when 589 vehicles were registered.
Other big news regarding the show is its new location. Spring Thaw will be hosted at the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino in southwest Calgary, just off of Glenmore Trail and 37 Street.
For the foreseeable future the Nifty Fifty’s group hopes to be able to host the show at the Grey Eagle.
In 1986, the Nifty Fifty’s Ford Club held their first Spring Thaw at Chinook Centre Mall, and some 100 vehicles showed up. In 1988 they moved to North Hill Mall, where numbers had climbed to more than 200 vehicles.
In 1991, the show moved to South Centre Mall – and the group was seeing 400 cars by the time they moved to Deerfoot Mall in 1996.
“That year we had 524 cars,” Moore said. “We stayed there until 2002 when we relocated to McMahon Stadium, and then in 2008 we moved back to Deerfoot Mall.”
However, the group knew that 2014 would be their last year at Deerfoot Mall, because the property owners have now undertaken an expansive redevelopment plan.
That sent the club looking for a new location, and the Grey Eagle, with its massive parking lot, numerous restaurants and indoor restrooms offered everything the group required.
And, the Grey Eagle welcomed Spring Thaw with open arms.
“We want to be known as the ‘car show casino’,” said Steve Graham, Grey Eagle’s food and beverage/outdoor events manager. “In fact, that’s one of our taglines.”
The Grey Eagle first got involved with car shows when the Electric Garage – now known as EG Auctions – hosted an event in the parking lot.
“One of the Electric Garage organizers suggested that we should be hosting a car night,” Graham recalled. “And, we started doing that on Thursday evenings, but we’d only ever get 35 or 40 cars because there were conflicts with other ‘rod nights’ taking place on Thursdays.”
Then, Ron Gorham approached the casino, and asked if they’d host a Wednesday evening car night – now called Wild Wednesday. This event has become so successful there can be anywhere between 500 and 600 cars on the lot on a Wednesday evening during the cruising season.
“When the Nifty Fifty’s club came to us about Spring Thaw,” Graham said, “it was really a no-brainer – we have the space to host this kind of event, and we enjoy doing it.”
Both Graham and his boss, Martin Brickstock, casino general manager, are car and motorcycle enthusiasts. Graham just got a 2006 Mustang convertible and he rides a 2008 Harley-Davidson Fat Bob. Brickstock has a 1971 Jaguar E-Type, and he also owns a custom Triumph motorcycle.
After Spring Thaw, the Grey Eagle Casino hosts a number of other car shows and charity ride events. Examples include the Motorcycle Awareness Ride on May 24, the EG Auction from June 12 to 14, the Prostate Canada Calgary Network Show and Shine on June 28 and Hot Import Nights on August 8. Wild Wednesday cruise nights start on May 20.
Of the Grey Eagle and Spring Thaw, Moore of the Nifty Fifty’s said, “It’s a unique venue and we’re tickled to have it.”
Spring Thaw runs Sunday, April 26 at the Grey Eagle from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vehicle registration is $10, and spectators are free, although a food or cash donation to the Food Bank is appreciated. Rain date is May 3.
Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067, gregwilliams@shaw.ca, or visit gregwilliams.ca.
