Summerfest in Meaford and the Air Show!

Two years ago someone among the downtown businesses came up with the idea of 'Summerfest', a day of special events and sales in downtown Meaford.  It caught on and this Saturday was the highlight of thing this year, sales of all kinds along the main street, and a car show, jeep show and air show down at the harbour (which is only one block east of the main street).

I could not have ridden my wheelchair along the main street if I tried, so I just headed for the harbour, especially to see the air show.  And it was a gorgeous day!  While I was waiting I walked along to see the various cars on show.

This is a 1968 Morgan, a British car make popular among sports car enthusiasts.  Morgan is the company that started out making three-wheeled cars in 1913, and recently re-introduced a three-wheeled model starting in 2011.  They pride themselves on craftsmanship and only produce 800 vehicles a year.

This on the other hand is a jalopy of some kind.

You can tell some of the features on this old truck are not original, from the low profiles to the red bumper.

This 1927 Ford Roadster Model A though, is original, or at least 95% so according to its owner.  This owner, who I had the chance to talk to, restored the vehicle over the past five years, and puts several thousand km. on it each summer.  The spoked wheels, silver bumper, side-opening engine and big headlamps all spoke 'Model A' to me.

This roof rack on a totally modern pick-up struck me as one of the other interesting things on display.

Sponsored by the local gastronomic extravaganza The Dam Pub, Gord Price is a retired RCAF fighter pilot and airline pilot who is also a Canadian Unlimited Aerobatic Champion, flying a Yak-50.  I've borrowed the image below from the website of the Canadian International Airshow.  

He made numerous passes across the waterfront, often climbing straight up into the sky and plunging back down.  I had no idea of the complexities behind organizing this, from the weather to closing the air space to closing the water space, but it was certainly a crowd pleaser!