Professional driver will bring his race car to this year’s Blues Cruise

Written By Brian Lockhart

The Blues Cruise car show will again fill Broadway in Orangeville with vehicles during the Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival taking place this weekend, from May 31 to June 2.

The street will be lined with classic, special interest, and custom automobiles. Now that the good weather has arrived, car and truck owners are eager to take their special vehicles out of the garage and let other car enthusiasts enjoy them as well.

You can stroll along Broadway and experience performances on several stages that line the route during the festival.

The show is even bigger this year with over 300 cars expected to participate.

Expect to see classic cars from several different decades. Some are kept true to the original design, while some have been modified, chopped, and customized.

Some vehicles date well back to the early days of motoring, while others are more contemporary.

If you like muscle cars, there will be plenty of power in the auto line-up.

Some unusual and rare vehicles that owners only take out for special occasions will also be on display. 

There will be a special guest at this year's event.

Eric Kunz, a rising star in Canadian motorsports, is bringing his race car to the show.

Kunz, an Orangeville native, competes in the Sports Car Championship Canada (SCCC) presented by Michelin and recently won Race 1 and 2 in the TCA Class at the Victoria Day Speedfest held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The SCCC, organized by FEL Motorsports, represents the pinnacle of sports car racing in Canada.

“I'm really proud of Eric and it is awesome knowing that someone local is doing so well in the Sports Car Championship Canada Series,” said Blues Cruise organizer, David Murphy.

Eric Kunz will have his race car displayed in front of CSN Leggett's Collision Service at 51 Broadway.

JP Venditti, owner of CSN Leggett's, is one of Eric's sponsors this year.

“I'm really excited about representing CSN Leggett's Collision Service at this year's Blues Cruise on Broadway,” Eric said. “CSN Leggett's and JP were a huge support for my SickKids fundraising drive in 2023 and have been amazing to work with as a sponsor this season.”

In addition to showcasing his racecar, Eric will be hosting a special prize draw on behalf of CSN Leggett's Collision Service. The prize is a pair of gold grandstand tickets to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto.

Entry to the contest is free and participants are encouraged to make a donation to SickKids.

You will have a chance to vote for your favourite vehicle and the Community Choice Awards.

If you are planning on bringing your special vehicle to the show this year, there is a new plan for registration.

The show is being pre-staged at the Orangeville Canadian Tire parking lot, with cars heading over the Broadway in groups of 25.

This is being done to avoid a backlog of arriving cars as well as avoid overheating.

Registration will start at 1 p.m. with the first group of cars heading to Broadway at 1:30 p.m.

Any cars arriving after 4 p.m. can go directly to Broadway, however, the street will be closed to traffic from 5 p.m. onwards.

The show will take place on Friday, May 31, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.