Vintage Cars ~ Tranquille on the Lake ~ Kamloops, BC

Sunshine brings out so many great things.  Today is for car lovers especially, who get to see all kinds of car shows, parades, rallies and tours when the sun comes out.  The old cars come out from a winter in the safety of their garage and after some polishing are all ready to show off.  The Kamloops chapter of the Vintage Car Club recently held a Spring Tour at Tranquille Farm Fresh where the public was invited to view 150 vehicles. 



Vintage cars at Tranquille on the Lake

We went out to enjoy the ‘vintage’ at that historical landmark of Tranquille.  This is a great location for something like this, especially considering the vintage cars will be surrounded by history.  The ‘showing’ of the vehicles was set for noon to 3pm, although many of them left earlier, and there were vendors there for those wishing to eat lunch.

Vintage Cars on display including 1932 Nash 987

The license plate that is shown on some of the cars are “Vintage” and others are “Collector” so I had to find out what the technical difference between the two of them was, and then there is also “antique” but no plates were seen for that.  The info can vary depending on where you look but it turns out that the general difference is the age and a lot of criteria. 

A burgundy coupe at the Vintage car show

A true antique vehicle was manufactured before Dec. 31, 1915 and carries ‘Vintage’ license plates. A ‘vintage’ vehicle is at least 30 years old and also carries a ‘Vintage’license plate. A ‘collector’ vehicle is at least 25 years old with ‘Collector’ plates and another is a ‘classic’ which would be a distinctive vehicle produced 1925-1948 as high priced and a limited quantity were built but that would carry a ‘Vintage’ plate.  Have I confused you yet?

 1958 GMC is part of the Vintage Car show

The distinct differences are determined in British Columbia by ICBC (Insurance Co. of BC) who sets the rules with the Motor Vehicle branch and then determine the classification for car collectors.  This would explain variations with other areas.

The Vintage beauty with wooden spoke tires

I heard the story that the wheels on these vehicles would be taken off in summer and put into the Thompson River so the water would swell the spokes up and fit better thus preventing the hot weather from drying them out which might allow those spokes to fall out.  A simple solution to a potential problem.

Packard Super Eight Touring Limo

This Packard Super Eight must fit into the ‘classic’ category as it is a might fine vehicle.  I am sure it would fit the criteria of a ‘classic’ and although I am not sure of the year of this model, these touring limousines were produced in the late 1930’s, early 40’s.  This looks like some we've seen in those old movies.

Hood ornaments adorn the Vintage cars

These hood ornaments, called car mascots in the UK, look like art pieces and can identify the maker of the car.  These are still an important design of any car, to this day and made for a great photo group.  

Laughing Stock Theatre Society

The Laughing Stock Theatre Society put on a comedy routine that was enjoyed by all.  They also have another show planned at Tranquille in August so watch their web page for more info on that.  

Long abandoned Tranquille buildings offer great setting for the Vintage cars

The setting was great and for those who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to see these historical buildings, there were tours held for members of the Vintage Car Club.  I didn’t get the memo but I am sure the public that came to view the vehicles would have been welcome to join the guided tours that were offered after the comedy show.



Fire Hall and vehicles of old Tranquille Sanitarium

These vehicles have all been restored and likely sit the way they may have done when they were new.  The ambulance is a 1952 Austin Sheerline A125, the wrecker is a 2 ton 1945 Ford model 69T and then the fire truck is a 1937 Ford LaFrance.  Both the wrecker and the fire truck are shown as being owned and restored by members of the Kamloops Chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada.

For more photos of the Vintage Car Club, click here for the Easter Parade show that we attended and then did a blog page on.

There is more information about the classifications of cars on the VCC site, if you wish to learn more, click here.  Kamloops Chapter has their own page on the VCC site, to learn about their shows and see their calender of events and history, click here.

Tranquille Farm Fresh has lots of events coming up, click here to learn more about those.

For more history on Tranquille, click here, then for another I had done on Tranquille on a previous visit, click here.

Easter Parade ~ Vintage Car Club ~ Kamloops, BC

Easter Sunday would not be complete without the Easter Day Parade with the vintage vehicles and Easter bonnets in Kamloops.  We had a perfect day for that to celebrate the parade’s 40^th anniversary.  The Kamloops chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada held it’s first Easter parade in 1972 and has been doing it ever since.

1953 Bentley in Easter Parade in Kamloops, BC

We arrived in Riverside Park in downtown Kamloops by the Thompson Rivers just as the parade of vintage vehicles were driving down the tree lined roadway to gather in front of the bandshell for all to see.  This 1953 Bentley is a beautiful example of some that were about to gather.



Kamloops Rube Band on Easter Sunday in Riverside Park, Kamloops, BC

Certain things are just expected and that would be a band in a parade, so everyone would hope the world famous Kamloops Rube Band would be there and they were!  They were all dressed in their Sunday best to entertain us with their costumes and their music.  They really are a talented, albeit motley crew and have travelled around the world as Kamloops Ambassadors and represented us well for many years.

Gizeh Shriners Keystone Kops of Kamloops, BC

The Gizeh Shriners Keystone Kops, based on the old silent movie routine, added their color to the parade with a prisoner in their midst. They drove their 1934 Chevy truck, the Kop Kar in the parade but I missed seeing that. They have been promoting the image of Shrinedom with their award winning antics since 1988 when they first formed the unit.

1939 Buick in Easter Parade in Kamloops, BC

I realize that it depends on our age as to what era car appears to be an ‘old’ one and it seems to be they need to be from the 30’s to be ‘old’ to me, so these are the ones I am usually drawn to.  The ones we used to own don’t seem old yet, but to the young ‘uns, they are!  Guess that gives away some ages!

This old beauty sits proudly showing her vintage style

Most of these cars are owned by members of the Kamloops Chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada.  You can learn more about the club and their objectives if you check out their webpage.



1932 Chevy is one of the Vintage cars in the Easter Parade

Another car from the ’30’s and it has such character to it!  The Vintage Car Club requires that the vehicle will be at least 25 years old and will not accept any in their parade unless they are restored using original parts and are not modified in any way.



Kamloops Mounted Patrol of Kamloops, BC

The Kamloops Mounted Patrol was there to spend time with anyone that was interested in seeing and petting the horses.  Rick Wanless first founded the group in 1992 to serve the community at public events and has been doing it ever since.  There is never a lack of interest for the horses and their contribution to events such as the Easter parade is always appreciated. 



Crowds gathered for the Vintage Car Club at Riverside Park, Kamloops, BC

Once again the Easter parade has been a successful one and the crowd proves that Vintage is still a good thing and something we all enjoy. The sun was shining and the day was great, and to quote an old Broadway song, it did not rain on our parade!

This is another reason why we love Kamloops ~ there is just no place like home!