A big local weekend in Victoria
There’s something exciting about wandering through rows of vintage cars in the middle of summer that just feels right (if you’re my age, perhaps). A few days ago, I went to the famous Deuce Days car show—and let me tell you, I walked a lot. Again. Just like my last car show (see my Cars and Cardio post about the Fords and Friends event), this one turned into a full-on walking adventure day.
Overview of Deuce Days car show
This show was packed with about 1300 shiny hot rods and classic cars. If you weren’t there, go check out whatever people have posted on YouTube. The highlight of course was a long row of classic 1932 Fords (a.k.a. “Deuces”). The scene in front of the Empress Hotel looked like a modern-day blast from the past, complete with come-and-go blasts of sunshine.
I photographed a lot of cars. Now that I’ve caught my breath and gotten back into my day-to-day routines, I want to share a blog post with some of my favourite photos from the show. You’ll find lots of photos below.
The sounds of classic cars converging at a show is pleasing somehow, and I’ll bet it’s heavenly for my dad. The cars approaching in the early morning Sunday was enough to keep me awake all night. I won’t complain – my hotel was near the show area and drivers line up very early to get parked. My dad and brother were among them, in my dad’s ‘39 Standard Coupe!
Car shows are meant for walking
I wasn’t wearing my Apple watch sadly, so I have no idea what my step count was. That’s okay, I just know that it was well over 10,000 steps.
The entire weekend was full of walking for me. I stayed in a hotel near the main stroll (where the Parliament Buildings are) for a few days and nights to enjoy the cars passing through town.
Many were parked along Bellevue near the Grand Pacific Hotel – it was the headquarters where car exhibitors picked up their signage and swag. Being nearby, I could walk amongst cars and conversations all day and all night before the big day, and to a small degree afterwards as well. It helped save my energy for Sunday the big day. I was with my Dad and you’ll see him here and there in the photos below.
From the hotel area to downtown is only about a 5 to 10 minute walk, but while cars roared by, and parked cars drew my dad’s attention, it was more like 20 minutes every time we went out for a lunch or dinner.
In that few short days, I managed to eat at the fantastic Tapa Bar restaurant, played in the arcade/pizzeria in Chinatown, had a few coffees at McDonalds, got amazing bath supplies at Lush, bought a book at Munro Books, and narrowed my Swatch store favourites to just two contenders for next payday.
So my walking included a mix of wandering downtown in my own city and meeting a ton of people from far away. Just a little shopping too. With several roads blocked off during the show, it was a delightful experience for locals and visitors alike.
My photography connection
In my younger days, I was a photography fanatic at the local car shows. Classic cars offer lots of visual interest – curves, colours, shine, and reflections. Nowadays I’m very happy with my iPhone. At some events I still take a Sony A7r3 when I need super duper quality and ability to track fast action – that’s a whole topic I’ll get into some day. Don’t be surprised if an art blog pops up in my website someday.
While I was interested in the people and the colours, my dad and brother were the ones in my family who really drooled over the cars and engines. I appreciate the cars much more as an adult now, and all the work that goes into maintaining them, and in some cases restoring them.
Scroll down for a photo gallery and more notes from the day. Whether you’re here for the cars or the walking motivation, I hope this post brings you a bit of that summer car show feeling that makes you feel young again.
Photo Highlights from Deuce Days
Friday and Saturday, July 18 and 19 around the harbour
Morning of July 20, 2025
Next up is an attempt at making a tilt-shift image, followed by the original (real) photo.
Daytime July 20, 2025
You made it to the end!
That’s all I’ve got for now. The best of the weekend. Enjoy browsing peoples’ content they shared about the show, and imagine all the exercise they got walking and talking all day!