North Shore resident Sylvia Braddick has had a long history in the auto sport world.
Back in 1956, she was the first woman to drag race out in Abbotsford, something she continued with for years in an era with few female drag racers.
She is the only woman in the world to hold a wheel standing licence with the national Hot Rod Association, which she did with her modified 1968 Dodge pickup named Ecstacy, powered by duel flame-throwing, alcohol-powered, 800-horsepower Chrysler Hemis.
It was the mid-2000s when Braddick, long retired from drag racing, was down at the North Vancouver waterfront and noticed the potential that the open, and then mostly vacant, area held for a car show on the North Shore.
"I was down there watching the fireworks way back in 2003, '04, '05, before they fixed it up. I'd go down there and sit down on the wharf thinking, 'oh boy, this would be a nice venue for the car show,'" she explains.
It took a few years, but after discussing the idea with the Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneers Society, of which she is a member, she went before the City of North Vancouver mayor and council who allowed the show.
The Show and Shine at Shipbuilders' Square will enter its third year when it sets up on July 5. It is something Braddick looks forward to putting on every year.
"I just do it because I want to keep in the loop with the guys because I've been doing it since 1957. It's in me, you know. It's hard to describe something like that," she says. Braddick explains that she does it for her late husband as well. Together the Braddicks started the automotive parts store Payless Auto in Vancouver, which they built into a thriving business over the course of 35 years. The couple also operated the Food Warehouse in Lower Lonsdale for a number of years before Braddick sold it after her husband passed away.
Braddick now oversees everything to do with the Show and Shine event, including the cars she allows to come into her show.
"I'm kind of picky on the cars we get a little bit. We got some nice stuff, we got some hot rods, classics, customs, formulas, exotics, we do quite a variation because there's a lot of people that have different types of cars nowadays," she explains.
Although Braddick has more than 115 names of car owners, the event area can only fit about 85. She contacts them all herself the night before asking, "Are you coming or not?" One North Shore local who's definitely coming this year is Gerry Simons, owner
of two formidable Ford hot rods. One is a perfectly restored, decked-out 1929 Ford Model A hot rod, while the other is a 1932 Ford hot rod with an aftermarket fibreglass body.
Nestled under the hood of the '29 lies a 450-horsepower Chevy 409 engine fed by two four-barrel carburetors, while the '32 houses a potent 383 ram jet engine capable of about 370 horsepower.
The '29, which was restored from a metal body pulled from a car graveyard in Everett, Wash., gets a lot of attention wherever it goes, with many spectators lining up to get a picture with it, according to Simons.
"It won at the PNE last year, the best hot rod pre-1940. For the number of cars that were at that PNE auction and show that's pretty incredible," says Simons. "It is the absolute perfect hot rod, if you're talking hot rods. It's got the perfect stance, everything about it is perfect for a hot rod."
Simons, who was responsible for putting on a Show and Shine in Edgemont for five years, says one of his favourite things about taking part in events like this is all the onlookers he gets to meet in the process.
"You meet a lot of people, a lot of people ask questions about your car," he says.
Aside from cars, this year's show at Shipbuilders' Square will feature family friendly activities as well, including an ice cream truck, face painting, a doughnut and smoothie vendor and live performances from country western band, The Tumbleweeds.
Braddick gathers there every year with her own family, including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"I do it because I love to do it. I do that for my husband and I kind of see all the guys come with their cars," she says. "It's a very family-oriented thing I do."
The show runs Sunday, July 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
