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Ashmont Days enjoyed by excellent crowd

The streets were lined with people in Ashmont on Aug. 14.

ASHMONT – Everything from fire trucks to ATVs to race cars and tractors wheeled in to Ashmont on Saturday for a full day of fun, after Dale Hedrick, who is also the area's County of St. Paul councillor, rallied his friends and neighbours to help him put on a day to remember.

County of St. Paul Reeve Steve Upham and Div. 2 Coun. Kevin Wirsta were among the volunteers who joined the Ashmont Fire Department to cook up what Wirsta estimates as 1,700 pancakes to start the day, while St. Paul’s deputy fire chief Henry Thomson was kept busy handing out FireSmart information nearby and offering advice on keeping homes, farms and acreages as safe from wildfires as possible.

Right after the last pancakes were flipped, the firefighters climbed into their shiny red trucks and headed up to the top of Main Street to lead the parade through town past sidewalks packed with adult spectators and children eager to collect their fill of the sweet treats tossed from passing parade entries.

And what a parade it was, including some of the vehicles that would later be part of a show and shine, including Hedrick’s own Bigfoot monster truck, to a float that included a locally built greenhouse and two vintage tractors, one pulling an equally vintage baler.

It took only moments after the parade had dispersed before Main Street was lined with over 40 vehicles, ranging in age from the early 1950s to the early 2000s, plus a trailer with two pint sized kids’ vehicles, obviously handcrafted with imagination and skill. The full-sized vehicles included shiny show cars, prized antiques, Jeff Duperron’s battered demolition derby veteran side-by-side with a sleek Warrior race car and a pair of rat rods, one sporting a steel Mohawk on its roof and a knife handle on its gearshift.

Viewers were invited to vote for their favorites, with the People’s Choice awards going to Mark Scott, in first place with a 1956 Chevy, Rich Marchenko second with a 1971 Ford, and Roger Lozeau third with a 1979 Ford.

Along with the show and shine, there was musical entertainment and races for the youngsters. And the fun wasn’t over yet, because Mallaig Tire and Elk Point Tire helped get everyone revved up for the late afternoon tire burnout competition, which like Elk Point’s burnout the previous weekend, was an enormous crowd pleaser.

A video from the burnout competition, compiled by Innovative Films is available to view on YouTube.

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