Over 50 classic cars lined the fields of John McGregor Secondary School (JMSS) to welcome the school's second annual 'RetroFest'.
Students and staff of JMSS welcomed the community and their feeder schools to participate in the festivities on Thursday morning.
Along with all the vehicles on display, the festival also offered live music and art, lawn games, food, and a retro costume contest.
The event makes sense for JMSS, considering their notable reputation for auto-based programs, but Transportation Technology teacher James Stonehouse said this idea was inspired by student artists.
"This came about because of our art department. Our young people wanted to paint portraits of cars to prepare for RetroFest last year, but you need time to do those paintings. We put out a call to some of our alumni to bring their cars in... and it's kind of grown from there," he explained.
One of the school's most popular clubs is the #57 Pit Crew Club, where students design and build their own race car to compete at Delaware Speedway. This is only one example of the influence the school's technology wing has.
Stonehouse shared that the festival brings all students together, past and present.
"This gives an opportunity for Panther alumni to bring their cars, see the old school. The young people in the school come out, check out the cars, and we can get generations meeting generations," he remarked.
JMSS Vice Principal Todd Wood echoed the same feeling, stating that the event is a great way to engage the community of students and alumni.
"For us, it's really all about building the community through past grads, future grads, current grads... it's a nice way to tie everything together with that unique flare," he commented.
When asked if the event would become a yearly occurrence, Wood was positive.
"It's an event that everybody has enjoyed, and we've enjoyed putting it together. It's something that I think will continue on for a while," he stated.
With the mini, but successful JMSS RetroFest in the books, the city's annual RetroFest is set for May 22-23 at Tecumseh Park.
