The 2006 Picnic was held on a glorious sunny day. Even though there were many other events going on the same weekend on the Island, we had our usual excellent turn out of interesting cars, buses, trucks etc.

Here are some photos of the day, and the Press Release that Mike puts out so well every year about the Picnic.

The 21st Annual Cowichan Valley Car Picnic
Selected Prize Winners

August 14, 2006

A candy red 1931 Ford Model A coupe belonging to Art Wood of Victoria was voted the People's Choice winner at the 21st Annual Cowichan Valley Car Picnic, held Sunday, August 13th, at Brentwood College in Mill Bay. This year about 150 collector cars took part in this popular event, ranging from a brassy, crowd-pleasing 1920 Detroit Touring car belonging to Ken Newcombe of Victoria, to an amazing quartet of 2006 two-seater sports cars consisting of a Pontiac Solstice driven by Robert Weatherston of Mill Bay, Cornel Olauson's Mazda MX-5 from Victoria, a Mercedes-Benz AMG SLK55, and a Caterham Super 7 owned by Victoria's Kent Peterson. According to picnic spokesman Mike Bieling, "although numbers were down a bit from previous years due to other car shows on the Island, we had a great response from several clubs, and as always, a bunch of interesting vehicles came out that we'd never seen before."

"Members of the Vancouver Island Datsun Enthusiasts, the Miata Club, and other clubs all participated in the picnic, with the single largest turnout being the fourteen vehicles from the Jaguar Club of Victoria and friends. And North American vehicles were just as well represented as these imports and sportscars, with Dave Smith from Cobble Hill coming in second in the People's Choice category for his fabulous 1956 Ford Fairlane Skyliner. Other members of the Ford camp included Darrell Jantzen's 1927 Touring T "Modified", Bob and Marg Settler's Canadian-made 1969 Meteor Rideau 500 hard top, and a selection of Mustangs from every generation. Among the GM contingent were Corvettes like Jeff Wells' 1972 Stingray from Shawnigan Lake, and Ken McAllister's 1964 Stingray convertible and Wally Head's 2003 convertible, both from Duncan, not to mention several Chevrolet El Caminos and Camaros. For Mopar enthusiasts, the vehicles on offer ranged from George Croy's Chrysler-Maxwell "Four", built in Windsor, Ontario, in 1925, to Yvon Guindon's 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner, both from Duncan, as well as Plymouth Barracudas, a Roadrunner, and a Dodge Challenger."

"Several real classics at the picnic included Packards like Vern Wellburn's 1929 640 7-Passenger from Duncan, Nick Northeasts' 1934 Bentley 3 ½ Litre Park Ward saloon from Victoria, and a 2006 Ford GT that showed up at the start of our drive through the valley but didn't join us at Brentwood College. I was very impressed by an elegant, streamlined 1935 Hupmobile, designed by Raymond Loewy, who was also responsible for the Coca-Cola bottle shape and the Studebaker Avanti. A great variety of trucks were on show, too, from Bob Carter's 1934 Ford pickup from Victoria, to Ken Posey's 2004 Chevrolet Silverado SS pickup from Duncan. The crowd really appreciated the beautifully restored red 1949 Diamond T Tandem Logger truck, complete right down to a Mercury-powered Disston chainsaw, sold new to J. H. Braten of Duncan in 1950 and brought by Bill Simpson of Chemainus. And several Jeeps and heavier Dodge military vehicles participated as well."

Selected prize-winners at Sunday's Picnic were:

People's Choice Award, 1st Place: 1931 Ford Model A Coupe
Art Wood, Victoria, B.C.

Best Picnic Display: 1971 Chevrolet Nova with Vintage Teardrop Trailer
Dave and Becky Rogers, Sidney, B.C.

The Way We Were Award: 1948 MG TC
Michael Pettie, Lake Cowichan, B.C.

James Dean Lead Sled Award: 1951 Mercury Custom Sedan
Kerry Butler, Saltspring Island, B.C

Poor Man's E-Type Award: 1970 Datsun 240Z
Greg Macauley, Victoria, B.C.

Elegance Award: 1929 Packard 640 7-Passenger Touring
Vern Wellburn, Duncan, B.C.

Twin Windshield Award: 1949 Triumph TR1 Roadster
Norm and Ettie Scott, Sooke, B.C.

Drive-In Award: 1958 Pontiac Convertible
Bill and Ann Jamieson, Victoria, B.C.

Congratulations to all of these winners from the organizers of the picnic, and thanks to the many participants and spectators who made the 21st Annual Car Picnic a success! We are grateful to Shawnigan-Mill Bay Auto Parts, Ennerdale Engineering, Joe's Tire Hospital, Valley Vines to Wines, the Blue Rose Garden Centre, Super 7 Cars Inc., Needs and Desires Ladies' Wear, and the BCAA, who kindly donated the prize items.

To see photographs and learn more about the annual Cowichan Valley Car Picnic, E-mail us at oldcemeterian@shaw. ca, or call Mike Bieling at (250) 748-5031 or E-mail info@cvcp.ca or call David Saville Peck at (250)246-9922

The Peoples Choice Award was Art Wood's fabulous '31 Coupe.

An eclectic mix as usual!

A couple of very "English" convertables

The rediculous to the...........................................................................................sublime!

Very fast...............................................................................................................very slow!!

I've got more spare wheels..........................................................................................than you!