By now most of you already know that I make a point to attend at least one lowrider BBQ every year because I’m a whole fan of the lowrider lifestyle. Yes I said lifestyle, and unlike a lot of other blogs I don’t toss that word around every other post.
Lowriding, to these clubs, is truly a lifestyle, and that lifestyle is why these events are some of the best events in the city. Families are welcomed and encouraged, everything is free of charge.
Though it’s much larger than the average house or block could hold, the event still has a backyard barbecue vibe that makes it so genuine.
I know it’s a bit broken record to drive home how positive the vibe is at these events every year, but they really are a top five event for me.
Because they are a top five, when given the option of taking my dad, who was in town from Jamaica, to this show or any other show that day I chose this one.
In addition to bringing my dad I brought Ash too which marked this event as the first the Thomas family made an appearance at three generations deep.
This years BBQ had clubs from Toronto, obviously, and Montreal, again a given as these two lowriding scenes are very tight, but cars from Detroit, and clubs from a few other neighboring states came out as well to see exactly how the Toronto Majestics and Luxrious clubs get down.
Since the Rollerz Only had their BBQ the weekend before this meant many of these car owners did the commute two weekends in a row without a single complaint.
My pops hasn’t owned a modified car for a long time but if he has allegiance to anything its cars made before 1990, and American classics are right up there because those were the cars of his generation.
So walking around he couldn’t help but take a few pictures with his phone to show the friends he’d be touching base with here in Canada before skipping back to his retirement paradise in Jamaica.
He, and I, both really liked this big block Camaro. A split bumper model, it was clean and tidy and with 572 cubic inches under the hood I suspect it would have no problem pulling the wheels into the air with the hammer down.
Speaking of wheels up my dad had never seen hoppers before, so it was fun to see his reaction to these big cars laying bumper.
He seemed a bit confused that people would put so much money into their cars only to violently hop them up and down, but as I explained to him these cars are built for that, and their owners live for it.
My apologies for the similar angle and small number of hopping photos this year. Immediately after the first car Ash wanted on my shoulders, which made taking photos a bit difficult.
The cars hopping made a lasting impression on him though, and he’s been hopping the 65 Riviera Ruben gave him at the show ever since.
Ruben’s car was one of the first I showed my dad to give him an idea of just how detail focused lowriders can be.
I didn’t take too many pictures of his ’64, only because I still feel that his feature is some of my best work, but I did take a few detail shots of it and a few of the other cars at the show.
Details, details, details, and more details. It never ceases to amaze me how much detail is put into these cars, especially the undersides, considering that most drive to the BBQ under their own power and get driven fairly regularly.
I don’t get to see ‘Bombs’, or pre 1955 chassis based, lowriders very often but I always consider myself fortunate when I do. These cars have a whole different feel about them and usually are static, or on very simple hydraulic systems with limited lift drop and speed, but still command respect on the street and turn heads.
This fleetline? Beautiful. And the blue car above? More of the same. I’m sure there are plenty of Kustom builders disagree and would rather see these cars as sleds but me, I’m happy I love in a city where I can see both from one weekend to the next.
I also have to admit I was happy to finally see a Blazer done up on hydraulics. I’m a Blazer fan, and I’m a lowrider fan so of course I liked this, but it’s not something people have really been doing much of say the past eight years or so (probably more), so shout out to the owner of this one.
The Toronto chapter of the Cadillac Kings car club have quickly brought together some of the best looking Cadillacs of the city, which given their name only makes sense.
This ’65 Deville proves that hubs and whites are sometimes the only way to go when the original lines of the car look so good.
At any angle the car looked imposing and really low.
Parked a few cars over this ’95 is perhaps the newest truly complete lowrider build on the streets of Toronto.
I’ve seen some really impressive trunk set-ups before, of all different genres, but this has to be one of the cleanest, no question. Astheitcally and physically clean it was clear someone put a lot of time into pulling this trunk set up together.
Pinstriping, gold plating, and gold leafing, done to the nines.
Of course it’s no true lowrider coverage without a healthy douse of 60s Impala love, and that’s where we’ll end the coverage of the 2016 Majestics/Luxurious BBQ.
If you’re STILL not going to some of these events a year you really need to make some time. Great food, great times, great people.
