On June 23 and 24, hundreds of people from the Pontiac and beyond crowded the grounds at the Grand Calumet Island Recreational Association (R.A.) for the town’s second annual St. Jean Baptiste celebration.

Organized by the municipality’s R.A. committee, the event served as a fundraiser for the community while giving locals a place to celebrate Quebec’s national pride.

While last year’s event only took place for one day, this year’s celebration coincided with the weekend, giving the R.A. an opportunity to hold the party for an extra day, according to Grand Calumet Island R.A.’s treasurer Diane Côté.

As part of the festivities, folks participated in a wide variety of activities and entertainment, including bingo, face-painting and a huge inflatable, multi-coloured structure with a slide for kids among other things.

Besides the fun games on hand, a variety of local and foreign musical acts graced the main stage, some travelling all the way from Toronto, Africa and Europe to play in the festival. The lineup included Pontiac folk group Poutine Wolf Gang, a group of drummers from Burundi and the James Azola Band along with a wide array of talent.

Open mic sessions also took place, providing anyone with a lick of rhythm, musical ability or stage presence the opportunity to stand in front of the crowd for a little jam session.

A number of vendors set up in tents were on site as well, selling all sorts of knick-knacks and goodies, including children’s books, boardgames, and Tupperware containers among other things.

To keep anyone from getting too hungry or thirsty, Billy T’s Pizza provided fresh pies straight out of their food truck, while volunteers provided iced cold beverages and snacks from the bar in the R.A.’s building.

For Côté, the most rewarding part about hosting the event is seeing all the locals and outsiders get together to enjoy the party and everything the municipality has to offer.

Stealing the majority of the attention, over at the baseball diamond on Sunday, nearly 40 luxurious vehicles of all kinds of makes, models and eras of manufacture, from Ferraris, to Jeeps and Jaguars were sprawled out onto the outfield – a sight that would leave any car junkie’s eyes popping out of their heads.

The majority of the automobiles on site were owned by Pontiac residents, as well as some coming from the Ottawa Valley and Gatineau to show off their prized possessions, according to the man behind the car show and municipal councillor Mario Bérard.

For Bérard, the idea behind putting on the car show in town was to attract more people to the R.A.’s St. Jean Baptiste celebration.

The event is very beneficial for the town as it draws people from all over the region and beyond to spend time in the municipality, support local businesses making a positive economic impact overall.

“It attracts all kinds of people to come visit the Pontiac, spend money in the Pontiac, buy gas or go buy whatever,” he said.

As an avid car lover, he always enjoys seeing what kind of rare vehicles people are hiding in their garages.

“It makes me feel good because I see a lot of older cars,” he said. “Some of them, people don’t take their car out at all. They just keep it in the shed and they just go out to car shows and that’s when you have the opportunity to see them.”

With no trophies or prizes to win, the event served as an opportunity for car enthusiasts from the Pontiac and the Ottawa Valley to show off their unique sets of wheels and to see what kind of cars they have.

“This year, it’s only a show and shine,” he said.

However, all the money raised from the car show will go towards purchasing silverware and prizes for next year’s event, Bérard said.

Considering the large number of extravagant rides on site and all the people who stopped by to check them out or enjoy the party, Bérard was very happy with the way the show transpired.

“It’s a freaking excellent turnout,” he said. “At the beginning I said to myself ‘If I can get 20 cars that’s good.’ And we ended up with 38 cars. That’s even better.”

At the end of the town’s St. Jean Baptiste festivities on Monday evening, volunteers set off fireworks at the park, capping off the celebration with a bang.

As for the proceeds from the R.A.’s entry tickets, food and drink sales everything will go back to the R.A. to subsidize various community initiatives, Côté said.

On June 23, a car show attracted the majority of the people’s attention with close to 40 luxurious automotive beauties spread out on the R.A.’s baseball diamond. Pictured, car show organizer Mario Bérard poses for a photo alongside his 1967 Ford Firebird with his son Paul.

Shawville resident Eric Provost stands beside his 1950 Ford custom on June 23.

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