Originally intended to document my experience of DeLorean ownership, focus is often radical and strange, boring and obtuse.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Toronto St. Patrick's Day Parade 2012

St. Patrick's Day 2012 crowds on Queen Street loved the Irish sports car.

Toronto held its 25th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday in the record heat, under clear blue skies, drawing approximately 300,000 cheering spectators.

I'm not sure how the decision came to be, but sitting in the staging area with seven other DeLoreans, my buddy Ken told me I was lead car. "We're saving the gold one until the end," he said. "It'll be the pot o' gold!"

And so, sometime after noon, I rolled forward out of the St. George Street staging area and onto Bloor with a pack of DeLoreans behind me. "DeLoreans! Attack formation!" I yelled. The sun glinted off our stainless panels and the crowds stared in awe. They took photos, video, and cheered. As we cruised by, doors up like a flock of metal seagulls, they asked questions, ran along side us, and even jumped inside for a quick photo.

We were happy to oblige. We were mini celebrities without the drawbacks! No expensive security, no bulletproof glass, just the friendliest bunch of proud Irish folk and wannabees smiling & waving.

Yonge is downhill, and we enjoyed the chance to coast in neutral. Rounding the corner onto Queen my clutch leg was aching. As I approached the review stand and saluting officers, I realized the end of the BEST day was at hand. That's when a City TV news crew saw me.

Peter Kim did a take as I rolled alongside him. He didn't like it and attempted another. He then asked if he could sit in the car. He hopped in, we talked for a quick second and they did another couple of takes. He interviewed me very briefly, thanked me and exited the car. The interview was cut (hopefully not because of my supreme retardation), but the rest of the clip made the 6 p.m. newscast! You can view it here.

What a way to make my parade debut!

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6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's fantastic!! You're 15 minutes, well, 15 seconds of fame! The car looked great! I love showing off my Mustang. I've never been in a parade though, just in road rally's.

9:56:00 AM

 
Blogger Martini said...

I usually just take it to local shows, but even then it's often disappointing because it's typically not a highly regarded car in those (muscle car) circles. It's never a contender for a trophy. I'd like to hear about the road rallies sometime! I wonder if our club could organize something similar.

4:22:00 PM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

That was a nice news report, Martini! Knowing how news rooms operate, they merely cut the interview for length and I'm sure it was nothing personal. Just the same,I would have enjoyed seeing you speaking about your car. It looked flawless! :)

4:04:00 PM

 
Blogger Lorbo said...

great pic!

10:20:00 AM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Michael, the nice thing about it is it DOES look flawless. Until you see it next to another club member's car, many of which actually ARE flawless, and a few are close to Concours quality.

11:06:00 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My own style pasted these in the computer for the purpose of them to help keep. https://imgur.com/a/JSUtgyh https://imgur.com/a/5kHA8ME https://imgur.com/a/qEVqtME https://imgur.com/a/o1jAprN https://imgur.com/a/20lVo1X https://imgur.com/a/su4PEkD https://imgur.com/a/MNWkw4N

1:20:00 PM

 

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