For several years Rick Sharples has been battling bone cancer with the majority of his treatment taking place at the Simcoe/Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie.
As a way to give back to the hospital and help others battling cancer, Sharples wanted to do something “big", which is how he came up with the Cookstown Cancer Classic.
The Cookstown Cancer Classic is a classic/custom car and truck show that will be held on Aug. 13 at the Georgian Bay Stream Show Grounds at 4635 Victoria St. West in Cookstown. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the cancer centre.
“I just thought I want to do something and give back,” he said. “I started by trying to put the show on by myself and it was way too much work for one person. So, I brought in the Barrie Lions Club, the Innisfil Beach Cruisers, and the Georgian Bay Stream Show has helped out a lot too.”
With a passion for cars and car shows, it was an obvious choice for Sharples to bring one into the area for a good cause.
“I grew up around cars, it’s what I do,” he said. “I grew up around classic cars and stock car racing, so I wanted to go that direction. I’m excited and looking forward to a great day.”
The event will begin at 10 a.m. with the judging of the cars expected to be complete by 1 p.m. followed by awards with food catered by Montana’s.
“Basically, it’s just a large car show,” said Sharples. “We want people to come out and enjoy the day.”
Sharples expects there to be well over 300 cars at the event after all the work he’s put in recruiting people to get involved and thinks there could be as many as 800.
“My friends down at Inside Track helped with flyers at Motorama,” he explained. “I’ve been going to a bunch of local shows recently and I’ll be going to a bunch of large shows. I go there and I pass out flyers and talk to people to let them know what’s going on. I’ve been running around everywhere the last few months—I’ve been going to car shows four nights a week lately.”
With it being the first event, Sharples says they want to keep it fairly simple and build it up into “something special,” and points to the support it has received as a good sign for its future.
“The Town of Innisfil is behind us with this, we have a letter of recommendation from the mayor,” he said. “We have a letter of reference from the hospital board itself. Everything seems to be falling into place. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been worth it. I’m having fun with it. We’ve got a lot of people involved in it and it should be a great day.”
More information about the event can be found on the website here.
Sharples asks any interested automotive-related vendors (car part swaps are not permitted), businesses wanting to donate door prizes, and those who want to donate to the goodie bags (that will go to the first 100 guests) to email him at [email protected].
