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Central Alberta Mopar Association celebrates 27 years with car show

Nearly 100 vehicles were on display at the 27th annual car show for a group dedicated to preserving Dodge-Plymouth-Chrysler motor parts.
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Red Deer’s Phil Bosomworth looks inside the vehicle he brought to display during the Central Alberta Mopar 2021 Car Show in the north parking lot of Parkland Mall Saturday. (Photo by Sean McIntosh/Advocate staff)

Nearly 100 vehicles were on display at the 27th annual car show for a group dedicated to preserving Dodge-Plymouth-Chrysler motor parts.

Central Alberta Mopar Association hosted its annual show in the Parkland Mall’s north parking lot Saturday, after not having the event last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Last year, with all the restrictions, we were able to have a maximum of 100 people at an outdoor event. Instead of having a show, we gathered briefly to have a cruise,” said Glen Wilde, president of the nonprofit association.

“Since we are the Central Alberta Mopar Association, we utilized that. We did a cruise out through Sylvan Lake, Eckville, … Bentley, Blackfalds and then back to Red Deer.”

Wilde said while it was good to have some kind of gathering last year, he was glad to have a more traditional event this year, even if it isn’t the exact same as previous shows.

“By the time restrictions were lifted, it was already too late to order trophies and all of that sort of thing. We’ve done what we can as far as being together again, having some fun and having a car show,” he said.

“We’ve had a lot of very positive feedback. Everybody’s so happy to be out again.”

The money that normally would have gone into the show’s awards, will go towards charity instead this year.

Wilde has been the president of the Central Alberta Mopar Association for 25 years.

“I’m 47 and I was president in my early 20s. I look back on it now and I don’t even think I’m currently old enough to being doing something for 25 years,” he said with a laugh.

“There’s probably a 10-person or so core in this club that are founding members. We’ve all been doing this together for this amount of time. It’s been a lot of work for 27 years, so it’s always awesome to have new members.

“My 21-year-old son has become a member. When we started this club, he wasn’t even born. To have that next generation coming in and bringing their enthusiasm into any organization, it’s great.”

For more information on the association, visit www.facebook.com/centralalbertamopars.

The Edsel Antique Car Meet is was also held over the weekend. Vintage car owners showed off their rides in the Red Deer Cambridge Hotel parking lot from Friday to Sunday.

This event was being held as several Edsel owners from Alberta were unable to cross the U.S. border to attend the Edsel Owners Club’s 52nd annual convention in Idaho.

Hosted by the Alberta Edsel Group, the event was open to antique vehicles other than the Edsel.



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

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Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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