Annual Brits by the Bess car show features Minis in Saskatoon

The love for Minis has been passed down from one generation to another in the McDonald family. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

Saskatoon’s 21st Street in front of the Bessborough Hotel was lined with classic cars, thanks to the return of the Brits by the Bess car show. This year’s show had a special feature on models that are small in stature but have had a big impact on the history of vehicles.

“This year we’re telling the story of the Minis. So the Rover Mini, the Austin Mini, the Morris Mini, right up to the BMW Mini and gotten chronologically lined up, you can see a bit of the history,” said Scott McDonald, vice president of the Saskatchewan British Car Club (SBCC), and the event organizer.

The vice president went on to share how the Minis have always stood out, even among the more well-known models, and the cars have a certain charm that has allowed them to stand the test of time.

“When people think of little British cars, it’s typically a Mini or it’s a Jaguar, the old E-Type Jaguar with the long sleek hood and the V12 or Land Rover, those are typically the three iconic names. And of those three, the Mini is the easiest to maintain. And honestly, we’ve got a few little British cars. The other ones are drivers on the highway, and they’re a lot of fun to take on trips. But this one, it takes an hour to wipe the smile on my face when I finish driving it,” McDonald said.

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That love for Minis has been passed down from one generation to another in the McDonald family. Twelve-year-old Ari McDonald has been very involved in helping with the car show alongside his grandfather. The young car enthusiast explained that this year’s feature was extra fun after spending many hours restoring a Mini.

“I really like it because my grandpa has a Mini, and I helped him restore it. And it was super fun, and I like being able to show it off....I helped him put the engine back together. I helped him with all the electronic stuff. Basically, I helped him with a lot of it,” Ari McDonald said.

While Ari McDonald isn’t old enough to drive the vehicles that he works on, that certainly doesn’t deter him from learning more about the art of restoring the cars that he one day hopes to drive.

“I love working on the old cars, and British wiring is something you’ll never be able to transfer.”

Adding that those in the SBCC often question him about his plans for when he does eventually get his driver’s license after being around so many vehicles, and the Mini has remained his top choice.

“They also ask which ones are going to be yours someday. And I always say the Mini because I also know how to work on it, know what’s wrong if something does happen and I know a lot about it,” Ari McDonald said.

The free event is an opportunity to learn more about the history of the vehicles and take in the nostalgia that often accompanies many cars.

“A lot of people will come along and say, I had one like this, or I knew someone that had one like that. We’ve got the Bedford van and another van over here and people say, oh, I remember our milkman had one like that, or my grandfather used to have one like that. So I think it takes people back in time,” Don Morgan, a member of the Saskatchewan British Car Club, said.

Morgan added that the Bessborough Hotel seems to serve as a very appropriate backdrop for the occasion as well.

“The Bessborough was originally a railway hotel which takes people back to a before most of us were born. And I think it’s sort of part of the historic flavour of some of the older cars that are here,” Morgan said.

This year’s show also attracted car enthusiasts from all over the prairies. McDonald shared that watching folks make the trip out to admire the many vehicles has been a very rewarding experience.

“There’s a couple of cars out here that we’ve never seen before, and people that are a little reclusive. So seeing them come out...or just having people come out, there was an elderly lady to here in a wheelchair. She said ‘my grandfather had one of these’ and putting her in it or seeing that, that’s a lot of fun,” Scott McDonald said.

This particular show is completely outdoors, and Morgan shared that many appreciate the opportunity to take in Saskatchewan’s warmer months doing something they love.

“We have a short season in our province, and I think people like going to do something where they’re outside. And people that have cars like to show them off, like to talk about them. It’s a really nice change,” Morgan said.