Engines are revving up for Queen Street Cruise, the big annual car show in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. Returning for its eighth year, the event takes place on Friday, June 20th and Saturday 21st, bringing in thousands of attendees from Northern Ontario and beyond.
“It’s an inviting atmosphere— we’re a very inclusive event. You don’t need to have a classic car to be involved. You’re welcome to put in anything on wheels,” says Gary Trembinski Jr., co-chair of Queen Street Cruise. “We want to make sure everybody comes out and has a great time.”
The event will showcase hundreds of unique vehicles, from 50s Cadillacs to brand-new 2025 models. There will also be a variety of delicious food and drinks, as well as musical entertainment from local band, Bone Yard.
Things kick off at Russ Ramsay Way on Friday evening for the Queen Street Cruise Parade of Cars. People —and cars— will gather from 5-7PM, Bone Yard hits the stage at 6:30PM, and the cruising begins at 7PM. The Parade of Cars will leave Foster Drive, do a lap along the waterfront on Queen Street and Bay Street, and return to Russ Ramsay Way. Festivities and food will be running from 6-10PM.
By Saturday morning at 10AM, cars will already will be parked across the Pavilion grounds for people to enjoy and photograph, as well as chat with the vehicle owners. This is Gary’s favourite part of Queen Street Cruise. “Seeing people coming out with smiles on their faces, having a good time, catching up with friends, sometimes talking to people they haven't seen in years,” he says.
There are participants coming from all over Algoma, from Elliot Lake to Bruce Mines— as well as elsewhere in Northern Ontario, like Thunder Bay. Last year, Gary says, he met a man who drove all the way up from Toronto to participate. He’s returning this year and was excited to tell his friends about the event. “He was so blown away by the show and the cruise that we had.”
At 2PM on Saturday, there will be the first-ever “Mr. Sparkles Rev Off,” where Mr. Sparkles judges will walk around the grounds in special shirts and encourage drivers to rev their engines and show them off. There will be award categories for both stock engines and modified engines. Then at 3:30PM, 13 Cruise Award categories will awarded by the event’s third-party judges.
Another fun moment on Saturday will be the unveiling of the old English Leyland Double Decker bus that’s being brought to the Soo by business owners Sheila Purvis and Jeff Dicorpo. The bus will be run as a hop-on, hop-off tour bus, stopping at local attractions throughout the summertime.
New at the event this year is Habitat for Humanity’s Touch-a-Truck event, their first year partnering with Queen Street Cruise. Touch-a-Truck allows kids of all ages to see their favourite vehicles and construction equipment up close, getting to touch police cars, fire trucks and more, as well as sit in them and learn from the drivers. This event will raise funds for Habitat for Humanity Sault Ste. Marie & Area.
To add to the charitable impact, a percentage of the proceeds from registrations for Queen Street Cruise go to the Sault Area Hospital Foundation. The hospital will also be on-site selling their 5 Car Draw tickets. “It’s a local event and we wanted to keep the proceeds local and support people in our community,” says Gary.
Queen Street Cruise is a weekend that many look forward to every year, during these precious months of summer. Gary says that there is only one complaint he hears from attendees.
“They wish we could do it more often.”
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