Vintage classics brings the 50s and 60s to Bellfountain
When Caledon Meals on Wheels look at their clientele, they view them not as old, but as Vintage Gold. The seniors who partake in their services spent some of their best years in the decades most of us consider vintage, and their personalities and vibrancy reflect that.
This was part of what inspired the CMOW’s Vintage Classics event, which will take place in Bellfountain on Saturday, August 23 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. “This event is to bring our seniors out and give them something to enjoy,” explained Cathy Lepiane, Community Relations Manager at Caledon Meals on Wheels. “It’s their memories that they have. They were youthful in that time, and some of the best memories of their life were likely during that time.”
For this particular event, they wanted to be able to provide something that attracted more than just their seniors; they wanted to bring out the community as well.
“Cars just made sense,” said Lynn Wood, Resource Development Manager. “Everybody enjoys and loves the vintage era, and it just brings everyone together. It also brings it in to the whole idea of Meals on Wheels, and from a marketing point of view it makes sense because it ties in to what we do.”
Part of CMOW’s mandate is to bring execute a signature event to bring to the community and to the people that they help, as a way to bring in financial support and spread the word about their services.
“[The event] is an outreach tool as well as a fundraiser,” said Ms. Lepiane. “We’re trying to get out in the community a little bit more and bring out the livelihood of our clients, bring out how much life they have left in them and bring out how vibrant they all are.”
Vintage Classics will be held in the town of Bellfountain, in the west end of Caledon, at both the Bellfountain Village Church and the Bellfountain Public School. The church will set the main ‘stage’ for the event, and will feature performances by Elvis, local theatre groups and 50s and 60s inspired game contests like The Twist and hula-hooping.
“We know they our seniors love the cars and the 50s and 60s, and it’s something everyone else seems to enjoy too,” said Ms. Wood. “We thought we could tie that all in to a family event.”
The idea came to pass through their standing tradition of having the Brampton Corvette Club deliver meals to their clients in June. This year, there was a delay, and they started thinking about how they could still tie it in. That’s when the Vintage Classics event was born.
“When we started this we had no idea that we have drivers with classic cars,” said Ms. Wood. “Almost right after, some of them showed up to pick up their meals in their vintage cars. Once things started being worked out, we had lots of people showing up and wanting to be a part of it.”
The inaugural year of the event also ties in with the 50th Anniversary of the Ford Mustang, adding a little bit of extra-special celebration to the Vintage Classics.
“Next year we may have to go to a bigger venue, because we have big plans for this event going forward,” added Ms. Wood. “We’d like to include a ‘drive-in’ theatre event, with a movie like Grease, and song-sheets for people to follow along. We have big dreams for this, and it’s been incredible how well this year’s event has come together.”
For more information call 905.584.7136 or visit www.cmow.org. All proceeds from the event support CMOW programs and services, offered throughout Caledon and Orangeville areas.
Written by Tabitha Wells
