While grey skies and periodic rain did their best to dampen the spirits of car enthusiasts, the show, as is often said, must go on.
And for the organizer of the inaugural A & R Solutions Niagara 5000, which combined a chance for visitors – both the curious and the hardcore automotive enthusiast – to get up close to a variety of exotics and luxury cars from brands like McLaren, Porsche and Mercedes as well as take part in family activities and related events.
“it's an outside event, so there's not really much we can do," said Alana Hurov, Niagara 5000’s founder and chief executive officer. “It was funny. Up until yesterday, everything was looking perfect. And we're like, this is going be amazing. There's not going to be any issues. And then ….”
Mother Nature had other plans as Environment Canada issued a warning for substantial rainfall for Thursday night and into Friday. Sure enough, rain, heavy at times, came down Friday morning and it affected one of the features of the event – The Kids’ Rally.
“The kids’ electric cars can't operate in heavy rains so, unfortunately, we had to shut it down a bit earlier.”
Once cars were on site and the weather cleared up – the rain ended by 1 p.m. – crowds eager to get a close look at the cars came out.
While the cars were the centre of all the attention, the event also was a fundraiser for Cassie and Friends Society, an organization founded in Vancouver that provides help for children diagnosed with juvenile arthritis and their families.
It is a rare autoimmune disease that isn’t talked about often and there is no cure, said Jennifer Wilson, Cassie and Friends executive director. The most common form is idiopathic arthritis,
“In general, across Canada, 24,000 kids are diagnosed with (juvenile idiopathic arthritis), which is about the same as for juvenile diabetes, but nobody knows about it,” she said.
It’s not the same a rheumatoid arthritis, she added.
“It does affect the joints, but (kids) can also get some features of arthritis that adults don't get as commonly."
That includes arthritis of the jaw and a joint located behind the eye can also be affected and result in a disease called UVI (Uveitis), an inflammation of the middle layer of tissue in the eye wall.
“Kids with arthritis will need to get their eyes checked regularly by an ophthalmologist,” Wilson said.
Cassie and Friends was formed after a group of parents got together after founder David Porte’s daughter Cassie was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis. They, first and foremost, want to see a cure found and the group raises money to help fund research to make that a reality.
But until then, kids and their families need help, Porte said.
“We see it every day, kids and families were struggling and suffering with emotional needs, with financial needs, with a need for connection and needs for education,” he said.
Porte became connected to the car event through Hurov, whose daughter, Katherine, was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis.
“We were able to educate her and have social connections so that she could meet other parents and children that have juvenile arthritis and as it turns out she's also an amazing entrepreneur and event co-ordinator,” Wilson said.
Hurov was thankful to have found the support to help her family with Katherine’s arthritis.
“That's why we have the partnership … to help create awareness that children get arthritis,” she said.
Hurov needs to give her daughter a needle weekly to help control the condition and like many parents of children with juvenile arthritis, she lives in “constant fear of it flaring up at any time.”
While wanting to help a worthy cause, Hurov said she also wanted to do something to help businesses in Old Town as well.
“I know that weekends and summer are always busy whereas weekdays are always a bit slower,” she said. “So, the idea was that last night we had our opening night party, which was a Thursday night, so the idea is like I want to bring business to the town on a Thursday and then the Friday again, just trying to generate revenue for businesses on the street.”
The idea for this event came when she was the marketing director for the 124 on Queen Hotel and Spa. The goal, she said, was to help local businesses. She quickly put together an event last year to mark McLaren’s 60th anniversary but the Niagara 5000 takes things to another level.
And for Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa, the event was extra special as he was behind the wheel of an orange McLaren 720S, a vehicle that can go from 0 to 60 m.p.h. in just 2.8 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 10.4 seconds.
“It's very similar to last year, but this is a new model,” Zalepa said. “I think it has a little more horsepower and it’s very comfortable. As soon as you sit in this thing, everything is exactly where you think it should be. It's like a spaceship inside.”
Cars for the event were supplied by several automotive groups, including McLaren Toronto, Pfaff Automotive Partners, Performance Mercedes Benz, Porsche Centre Niagara, Porsche Centre Oakville, and Porsche TrueNorth.
