Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
Car enthusiasts in West Nipissing have an event to look forward to with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 225 hosting its second annual classic car show on August 15. The car show will serve as a fundraiser for the local Legion, but organiser Joe Welna stresses that it is free to attend, and that residents should bring the whole family. Bringing in live music, plenty of kids’ activities and a barbecue, the event is shaping up to look more like a community festival, and will run for most of the daytime, from 9 am to 3 pm.
The idea to host a car show came last year, according to Welna, who helped get it off the ground at what he says was “the last minute.” In 2025, the show still managed to bring in around 75 cars despite a shorter timeline to get organized. This year, Welna says that they have been hard at work for several months, hoping to attract even more cars. Working with the municipality to get River Street shut down during the show, he estimates that they have room for up to 200 vehicles to be displayed at the Legion grounds.
Welna adds that both the local car club president, Dan Debrie, and Legion branch 225 President Karen King have been plugging the event across the province. As they’ve been going out to other car shows, they’ve been dropping off event posters for the Sturgeon Falls event. Finally, Welna explains that the August 15 date was a deliberate pick by the organisers. “August 15 was the one weekend this whole summer where not a single car show is going on in Ontario,” he states, hoping that cars from all over the province will be here.
