Lions Labor Day Demolition Derby

Every Labor Day weekend from noon to 4, the Rotary Club of Fernie, British Columbia hosts the Lions Labor Day Demolition Derby at the Gymkhana Rodeo Grounds.

The spectacle of classic old cars lurching around in a muddy field, deliberately ramming into one another for hours, has fascinated children and adults alike since the 1950's. About a dozen cars collect on the dirt-packed open space normally reserved for rodeo competitions. Specially painted in bright colors, the cars are customized to compete in the derby. The glass windows have been taken out, the gas tanks relocated, the passenger doors have been welded to the frame. The drivers have done everything in their power to make these cars well-suited for crashing into one another.

Visitors cheer their favorite drivers as they try to get their vehicle to gain enough speed to smash and immobilize the vehicles of their rivals. The driver of the last vehicle still able to function will be declared the winner of the derby.

At the Lions Labor Day Demolition derby, the mayhem and destruction is organized into several rounds. At the end of the event, the two longest-lasting cars from each round enter a final round. This is perhaps the most thrilling component of the afternoon, as the drivers of the already-wrecked cars struggle to keep their vehicles operational for one more round.

Demolition derbys have waned in popularity since the 1980's. Only now are people rediscovering the thrill that only the demolition derby can provide: the thrill of cars being destroyed on a mass scale. The Lions Labor Day Demolition Derby plays a proud part in this renaissance.

When:

September 6, 2010

Points of Interest

Gymkhana Rodeo Grounds in Fernie, BC

If calf daubing and goat tying are phrases that send excitement down your spine, then the Gymkhana Rodeo Grounds is the place for you in Fernie, British Columbia.