While Sunflower Downs will be silent this long weekend with the demise of Racing Days, there is still plenty to do in the Town of Princeton to celebrate Canada Day and the start of summer.
The annual Show and Shine is expected to draw hundreds of visitors and up to 150 classic car owners to downtown Princeton Saturday July 4.
The event has grown to be one of the most successful car shows in the area, according to co-organizer Mac MacDonald.
“We started 15 years ago with 27 cars,” she said. “It’s grown to this. The whole street is usually full and if you look down the street nobody can move.”
MacDonald said one of the joys of staging the show is that it gives local seniors a chance to enjoy some automotive history.
“The elderly people that have driven these cars, they can’t get out and go to other car shows but they come to this and they sit and reminisce and have a good time.”
Show and Shine is a fundraiser that over the years has contributed dollars to Princeton General Hospital, Ground Search and Rescue and the local fire department. The show is free for spectators and car owners make a donation to register.
“All the money stays in Princeton.”
Show and Shine is held on Bridge Street from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. where there will be a live band and A & W providing lunch.
The Princeton Legion has also stepped up to provide entertainment over the long weekend.
A number of events normally held to celebrate Legion Week – June 23-30 – have been moved to the weekend and Legion members are also reinventing a couple of fundraisers previously staged by the now-defunct Lions Club.
Cliff Glover, Legion president, said residents are happy to see the return of the once annual Duck Races in the Tulameen River, which will take place Sunday July 5 at 9:30 am beginning at the
pancake, omelet and sausage breakfast at the Princeton Splash Park on Thomas and Lime Streets (begins at 8 a.m..)
There are 850 ducks ready to be tossed into the water to race their way to the brown bridge, and ducks are still available to be purchased for $5 each. Prizes are available for the first three ducks past the finish link.
When organized by the Lions Club the duck race “used to be a huge occasion” said Glover, although he could not speculate on how much money the event would raise. “That’s a very good question but since we’ve never done it before I don’t know.”
The Legion is also sponsoring a free family game day and barbecue Friday July 3 between noon and 5 pm., an event that typically draws at least 80 people and the Rotary Club is sponsoring a parade, beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, forming up at Mac’s Auto Parts.
The much anticipated crowning of the Princeton Ambassador takes place Friday as well following the parade, at 7 p.m. at Riverside Centre and admission is $5.
On Wednesday July 1 The Princeton Museum is celebrating Canada Day between 11 am and 1 p.m. with live music, family activities and free cake.