J.P. Antonacci
BRANT NEWS

“It’s a Transformer!” laughed Sherry Roach as her grandson Owen pointed excitedly to a yellow and black 2005 Ford Mustang parked on Dalhousie Street.

“We’re enjoying it,” Roach said as she watched Owen and her husband Ray admire classic cars during the eighth annual Telephone City Car Show in Brantford on Sunday. “They just love this kind of thing. “They’re all car crazy.”

“Car crazy” could describe many of the passersby who strolled up and down Dalhousie and Colborne streets between King and Charlotte streets, marvelling at more than 500 souped up hot rods, gleaming sports cars and timeless rides from the 1920s to the present day.

Pop and rock hits from the 1950s and 1960s added to the nostalgia as attendees reminisced about rides past and youngsters asked their parents and grandparents about the wide variety of vehicles on display.

The cars wound their way through city streets during the Remember When Cruise on Sunday afternoon, which gave onlookers a glimpse at what the streets of Brantford looked like in generations past.

The toonie admission charge to the car show went toward the not-for-profit group Rosewood House Brantford.

When attendees needed a break from all the hoods and spoilers, visitors browsed vendor stalls while kids played games and had their faces painted.

Aligning the show with the three-day Brantford Blues Festival at the nearby Market Street Promenade brought even more people to the downtown core.

Roach, paying her first visit to the car show after moving to the city two years ago, was impressed by the size and scope of the event.

“This is huge,” she said. “It’s nice to see that so much goes on in Brantford.”