Read the whole story behind SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE below.
Ontario’s SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE
Thank you for taking the time to read about this exciting event!
Have you been to the “Woodward Dream Cruise”? It consists of a 16 mile, “paperclip” like loop of 6 lanes between Ferndale and Pontiac Michigan, just northwest of Detroit. You’ll see 35-40,000 Classic, Muscle, HotRods, Exotic, Truck and Import vehicles parade past your lawn chair in 2 days. That’s NOT a Misprint! With 2018 being the best, recent weekend (no rain, No Covid ) Crain’s Detroit Business News claims 1.3 million visitors pumped $24 Million into Detroit’s economy! (AND… that’s NOT a Misprint!)
Check out the Home Website at: www.woodwarddream cruise.com. Best YouTube Video: Go to “Search’…type in exactly, (no short cuts)…Woodward Dream Cruise 2019 DK Records. Look for “by DK Record”. The 12:53 minute video will open with a rather loud 15 second commercial and the Videographer introducing his Father before the video portrays a curbside parade of classic cars. It’s filmed on Friday evening and the all day Saturday Main Event, that’s always the 3rd Saturday in August.
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Or let’s drive through America’s largest block party. “Cruisin’ the Coast” began in 1996 as a festival to celebrate Classic, Antique, HotRod, Nostalgic Music and Muscle Car related events. It grew from 374 cars to over 8300 in 2017. Car enthusiast from 40 states, plus Canada, Germany and Puerto Rico arrive on the Mississippi Gulf Coast once a year to showcase their vehicles and cruise the beautiful 30 mile stretch of beach-side highway with designated stops in Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Pass Christian, Gulfport, D’lberville, Biloxi and Bay St. Louis. Over $26 Million was pumped into the local economy during the week of 2019!
“Cruisin’ the Coast” is a seven day event that always starts on the first Sunday in October. It’s become the state’s biggest Special Event in Mississippi. As “Cruisin the Coast” grows, so has the Honors & Awards:
The Governor’s Excellence in Tourism Awards for Festival/Event of the Year in Mississippi. The “Shining Example” Award for Best Event by Southeastern Tourist Society. ONE of 100 Top Events of the Year in America by America Bus Association. AAA magazine, the Southern Traveler named “Cruisin’ the Coast” a “Southern Travel Treasure”. The Automotive Restoration Market named the “Cruisin’ the Coast” the “Event of the Year”.
Checkout the Home Website: www.cruisinthecoast.com. Click on “About Cruisin” and then click on “How CTC Works”. Best YouTube video: click on “Search” and type exactly: Cruisin the Coast 2017 ScottieTV. Please click on and view the Wednesday 2017 & Thursday 2017 .
Then double back to the Adirondack Nationals. This 33 year old event is always held on the first weekend after Labour Day. The 3 day event has nightly cruises through the town of Lake George New York. The Home Website: www.adirondacknationals.com. Best YouTube: click on “Search” and type exactly: Adirondack Nationals Weekend Lake George NY Chris Dark. It’s a 3.13 minute drone overview.
Each town along the route of the Woodward Dream Cruise and Cruisin’ the Coast in Mississippi has events planned for that day, setting aside distinctive parking areas for Classic Car Owner Parking. Everyone can enjoy a walk through the Classic Cars, watch the stage for Live Entertainment and walk Vendors Row or Local Retailers Outlets for Food and Event Merchandise.
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Now… It’s Our Turn! Ontario’s SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE! ALLCar’s Cruise with Me… on Highway 3! St Thomas to Fort Erie… Fort Erie to St Thomas…
ALWAYS the 3rd Saturday & Sunday in September! September 21st&22nd 2024
Why Not!
The Drive of 199 kilometres (123 miles) from Fort Erie to St Thomas takes only 2 hours, 43 Minutes! It’s a pleasure drive on smooth, curving roads that run through quaint towns and park like settings!
Highway 3 has very good to excellent asphalt. If there are no Traffic-Lights to control cross traffic, there are Left and Right Turns Lanes at each major cross road to diffuse any traffic congestion.
The people who live along Highway #3 take pride in their homestead, thus keep their front yard free of debris. When trimming their landscape, most homeowners groom their lawns right up to the road’s edge.
Why the Date?
Even though it remains warmish for the bulk of September, we all know…summer is declared over on Labour Day Monday! By planning the event on the 3rd Saturday-Sunday weekend in September, it will give everyone… from St. Thomas’s Comfort Inn…to Vivian’s Country Cooking in Courtland, the Barrel Eatery in Simcoe, Country Chip Wagon in Dunnville, Moe’s Tap & Wings in Port Colborne, to the Knights Inn in Fort Erie… one more full weekend of “Summer $$ Income”!
Woodward’s Average Daytime High Temperature of 27C (80.6F) and an Average Evening Low Temperature of 18C (65F), coupled with a sunset of 8:24pm during the third week of August, creates a perfect environment for some folks who want to linger on into the night at the Woodward Dream Cruise. So the police forces within the Woodward Dream Cruise start a little after 930pm to close Woodward down by blocking side streets and slowly “flushing” all traffic south or north with no return routes.
Using Simcoe as an example, the average Daytime High and Evening Low Temperature are 22C (72F) and 12C (62F) respectively. The 7:27pm sunset will also bring about an earlier cool-down in the evening, during a day that’s already cooler than the Woodward model. The cooler day and an earlier sunset will
take cruisers off the road to an earlier evening meal and the warmth of a motel room or bonfire.
The extended route length, earlier sunset and cooler temperatures will further reduce the already minimum public problems that the police forces within the Woodward Dream Cruise usually encounter.
SideBar1: The cooler temperatures and the extended length of the “Drive” means car owners will not encounter overheating problems. This will further reduce traffic congestion due to stalled roadside vehicles. The 3rd Saturday & Sunday Weekend in September is perfect for Ontario’s SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE!
The number of Old and Newer Performance, Sport and Classic cars and spectators will amaze you! Most assuredly, after the everyday vehicle for him & her, their classic vehicle is the 3rd car in their “fleet”. Meaning this middle to upper income group has “recreational” funds to spend!
The amount of economic income this group will spend in our region(s) will amaze you!
A “Static” Car Show will garner economic income for only that town in which the show is situated.
A “moving” Ontario SouthCoast “DREAMDRIVE” will garner economic income for every city & town! DREAMDRIVEwill be part of a major economic “push” to restart our Tourist Industry from “within”.
Why the Route?
The area from Fort Erie to Windsor has been deemed the “SouthCoast of Ontario”… and… Rightfully so!
Here’s a few examples to verify why Highway #3 is the Main Artery of Ontario’s SouthCoast!
Port Stanley, on Lake Erie’s shore, is only 16.1K (9.9 Miles) or 19 minutes south of St. Thomas in which Highway #3 runs through, drawing tourist from London Ont.,which is 27.3K (16.9 Miles) north of St. Thomas. The summer’s tourist attractions in Long Point… on Lake Erie shore… is 41.6K (25.7M) south, or 38 minutes from Highway #3 Tillsonburg. It draws weekend tourists from the Ingersoll area, which is only 24K (14.8M) or 21 minutes northwest of Tillsonburg. Lake Erie’s Turkey Point is only 18.4K (11.5M) south of Highway #3. People from the City of Hamilton travel 53.5K (33.1M) or 25.3 minutes south through the Highway #3 town of Jarvis before continuing 14.2K (8.8M) south to the bussling Lake Erie town of Port Dover.
Lake Erie’s hamlets and towns of Long Beach, Sherkston Shores and Crystal Beach are respectively…
4.7K, 6.2K and 3.7Kilometres from the Highway #3 intersections of Ostryhon Corners, Gasline (Port Colborne) and Ridgeway. These three “Summer Hot Spots” draw weekend tourist that are only 45.1K ( 27.9Miles) or 35 minutes from the large city centers of St. Catharines / Niagara Falls.
The complete Highway #3 of Ontario’s SouthCoast… from Fort Erie to St. Thomas…St Thomas to Fort Erie already has a tourist based audience from urban areas that are of close proximity. Combine that with a tourist area that has accommodations and attractions that are already operational…the DREAMDRIVEin September can create ONE more weekend of “Summer” Income that otherwise would not happen!
Who Got Our July 2021 DREAMDRIVE Prospectus…to get the “Engine Started”?
This Prospectus was sent to all Kinsmen, Legion, Lions, Optimist Rotary & Mason Chairmen.
This Prospectus was sent to each Chamber of Commerce, BIA and Police Forces along the route.
This Prospectus was sent to each Mayor and County “Economic & Tourist Improvement Officer”.
This Prospectus was sent to Members of the Ontario Provincial Government who “sit” within the route.
This Prospectus was sent to 91.7 Giant FM…92.9FM The Grand and Classic Rock 98.1.
This Prospectus was sent to valid Major Sponsors: CAA, Hagerty, Rona, Canadian Tire, Chrysler, etc.
Our “TownHalls” of September & October 2021: The first edition of this Prospectus was mailed out in July 2021 to over 200 Stakeholders (see pages 15-18). Even with Covid “rules” ever present in the background, we can term the “TownHall” Meetings that were held in Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Cayuga, Delhi, Tillsonburg and St Thomas a success! Some of the new ideas garnered, were added to SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE’s procedures.
Encouraged by the enthusiasm for DREAMDRIVE, this Second Edition Prospectus will act as a beckon to ALL of Ontario’s Car, Truck and Specialty Vehicle Clubs to travel the route of Ontario’s SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE!
What Type of Vehicles Does DREAMDRIVE Invite?
The Hot August Nights Cruise takes place on an four lane, eight mile stretch of road between Reno Nevada and Sparks Nevada. In 2022, to alleviate congestion, they’ll be limiting the VIP Registration to 6,000 cars. The 30 mile 2022 “Cruisin’ The Coast” will cut back to only registering vehicles 25 years and older.
Most auto enthusiasts craved for the return of the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger. They built them… we bought’em! We can’t deny that there is a whole new generation of CarBoys out there enjoying the new performance cars! Chrysler, Chevrolet and Ford have built mobile MotorSport Displays to entice others to look their way and purchase such machines. Ontario’s SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE hopes that the MotorSports “arm” of Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, Nissan and Toyota will recognize the enormity of this event.. and will want to display their performance wares along the whole DREAMDRIVE Corridor.
If we denied New Performance Car participation, these Manufactures will have NO reason to participate, leaving us with NO major Motorsports Display at DREAMDRIVE. Nissan Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler will be made aware that DREAMDRIVE welcomes all Late Model “Factory” Performance Vehicles.
We know a large number of these “new” performance cars would bring more congestion to both the 30 mile length of Cruisin’ the Coast and the 8 mile length of the Hot August Nights.
Because of DREAMDRIVE’s extended Show Route, we will NOT limit the number of Participants!
DREAMDRIVE will honour ANY Domestic / Imported Vehicle 25 Years or Older…
AND…ANY Imported / Domestic “Late Model” (Newer) FACTORY PERFORMANCE / SPORTS Vehicle
Or…If You think Your Wheels are “Cool”…then DREAMDRIVEwith us!
There IS enough roadway to dissipate any traffic congestion!
How Do We Alert the General Public & the Army of Classic / Late Model Performance Car Owners?
Ontario’s SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE will use the collected Sponsorship’s Seed Money to attract these “Special” Car Owners, SwapMeet Vendors and Spectators via the audio, print and social media.
Radio “Tie-Ins”: Due to the length of this DREAMDRIVE one Radio station cannot be used as a flagship to promote the event, play music tuned to this crowd or to give out traffic reports. As a result, 91.7 Giant FM in Port Colborne, 92.9FM The Grand in Caledonia and Classic Rock 98.1 in London will be approached to help
in this manner. The Radio Stations may be able to raise their advertizing revenue that weekend by selling air time promoting Restaurants, Lodgings and Automotive Services along the Event’s Corridor.
We Talk the Talk…
You’ll see our FULL page (8″X10″) coloured ad in April 29 – May 1st Toronto Motorama Spectator Program.
You will see our FULL page (8″X10″) coloured ads in EIGHT issues of Old Autos.
We have our FULL page (8’X10″) ready for the June-July edition of Canadian HotRod Magazine.
We have a FULL page (8″X10″) ready for Bone Stock MuscleCar’s Summer Magazine.
You will see our FULL page (8’X10″) as a FRONT COVER on 50,000 copies of Ontario’s DayTripper.
DayTripper is spectator based, promoting great Weekend Stops, Shops & Events in “SouthCoast” Ontario.
shows should be attended to by which Sector.
Unlike being “stuck” at a Car Show all day in the heat to keep clean and help sell raffle tickets on a classic car, two members from one of our Sectors, can arrive as late as 10AM, distribute the Invitations to Car Owners on the ShowField within a few hours. Volunteers will NOT be stuck the whole day at a booth, handing out flyers
How Does Ontario’s SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE Provide Day & Nightly Entertainment?
The whole reason of this event is to bring retail “summer” like income to the Highway#3 Corridor. Besides the Service Club’s planned daytime entertainment and activities, DREAMDRIVE has to give people a reason to want to spend a night along the DREAMDRIVE route! With a quickening sunset and cooler temps, most folks will seek an evening of indoors entertainment. We hope Service Clubs will want to promote Dinner Theatre or…
….how about Service Clubs in each town/ city offing Nightly Entertainment by sponsoring Musical Groups to play in each community. A tribute band catering to tunes of the Beatle, Beach Boy, Johnny Cash, U2, Kiss, or Eagles could certainly entertain a community of Classic and Late Model Performance Car Owners! We will be listing these entertainment venues on the SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE Website.
All Restaurants are FULL on DREAMDRIVE Morning! Canadian Royal Legion to the Rescue!
We’ve all stayed overnight in anxious anticipation to get up and attend an event, only to be bogged down in restaurant lineups waiting to order breakfast. DREAMDRIVE will ask each Canadian Legion in the DREAMDRIVE corridor to offer a 8-11AM Breakfast Platter. We will ensure other Restaurant Owners who also may have paid DREAMDRIVE a Website Promotional Fee to list their entity, that the Legions will not undercut pricing. There is more than enough patrons for restaurants, we just want to be sure everyone is fed in a timely manner!
Just Drive… Ontario’s SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE!
SouthCoast DREAMDRIVE3 Association Inc. Not-For-Profit Ontario Number 10000-144668
Best Regards
Scott “East Sector” Wraight………. Al “Home Sector-Big Boss” Billyard
Carolyn “Central Sector” Chymko… ……. Joanne “Accounting” Crysler
Randy “West Sector” Goudeseune… …… Flo “Merchandise” Fraser
……………………. Brian”Communications” Hodge