Since I moved from Saskatchewan to B.C., I’ve been caught using the term “hardy stock” every chance I get. I mostly use it as joke in response to a co-worker saying, “It’s a little cold out, you should wear a jacket,” or “It’s too hot to be wearing that many layers.” The sad truth is I generally like to wear what I want, when I want, so whether I’m over- or under-dressed for the weather, I credit my ability to be able to withstand extreme temperature changes with being from Saskatchewan. Initially I wondered if I was playing up a silly stereotype, but I learned otherwise during my unannounced visit to Fallout this past weekend.
Fallout happened on Saturday, Sept. 27 and the day before the event the temperatures climbed well into the mid 20’s. Had the meet been held 24 hours sooner, we would have had perfect weather for this annual automotive season closer. But in true prairie fashion, the weather took a turn for the wet. I woke up Saturday morning to rain and a less-than-comfortable 9 degrees. Being of “hardy stock,” I sighed, put on a hoodie and prepared to spend the entire day in the rain.
I arrived at noon and the lot was filling up already, which was surprising because the event didn’t start until 1 PM. I think it was around that time when I realized there might be more to my “hardy stock” catchphrase than what meets the ear. In warmer climates, car events could be rescheduled or postponed. We don’t have that luxury in Saskatchewan. There’s only one guarantee in the Saskatchewan forecast: sooner or later, it’s going to snow and get real cold for longer than you like. So, with little opportunities left to enjoy the car scene, we put on a jacket and tough it out.
And that’s exactly what I saw: a parking lot full of people who decided that the mild inconvenience of rain and less favorable weather wouldn’t dampen their spirits. People of Hardy Stock that show up and support the community, and it’s because of them that these events happen.
Actually, that may be a little overzealous. These meets don’t just happen because we want them to; they require some planning and hard work behind-the-scenes. Lucky for us, many members of Saskatchewan’s automotive scene believe in what we do and want to see it grow. This year, we were lucky enough to have Shawn Peasley of Gloss Wurkz Detailing step up as our title sponsor. Shawn was going to spend some time detailing this 300ZX that was hand-picked to be in his booth, but the rain protested.
The usual suspects of supporters included our dear friends at Odd Man Out Performance, who brought out this 500 HP Subaru along with some other fancy Subarus.
Of course, a DODO meet wouldn’t be a meet at all without the support of Sask’s oldest and largest online automotive community, so we’d like to thank Redline Society for being there.
We were also lucky enough to receive additional sponsorship funding from Bag Barn, Prestige Chem and Raw Metal industries. And when I say lucky, I really do mean it. These events are not exactly cheap and when you operate solely off sticker and apparel sales, you can’t really go it alone.
Finally, I would like to thank the DODO guys in Regina who dedicated their time to organizing this event. It takes a lot of jumping through hoops and tedious work to make these events happen, and they put in the time while I just snapped pictures.
When we first started these meets, I used to think of them as ‘ours,’ as in ‘DODOlogic’s.’ But the longer we put them on, I realized this couldn’t be further from the truth. I mean, sure, if we drop the ball it’s going to fall on us, but the event itself belongs to the Saskatchewan car community. I think that’s why people keep showing up; there’s a sense of pride and ownership that goes into these meets. Well that, and because we prairie folk are goddamn “Hardy Stock.”