The hum of revved engines and the smell of motor oil enveloped a colorful convoy of steel and chrome down Dallas Road Saturday morning as hot rod enthusiasts idled in preparation for the Northwest Deuce Days Poker Run.
Deuce Days, back for the first time since 2019, brought around 1,250 pre-1952 collector vehicles to the region, along with an onslaught of car enthusiasts and hobbyists. Cars began arriving Thursday, including hundreds of the event’s namesake, the Deuce, which refers to a hot rod built in 1932, the most notable of which is a 1932 Ford.
This year is the 90th anniversary and the first year the event was owned and operated by Destination Greater Victoria, who purchased it from previous owner Al Clark.
“It basically just started as a pre-1950 car show,” said first organizer Jay Donovan. “And it basically became a celebration of car culture, an all-weekend event.
“The whole thing is a celebration of personalized transportation, so everyone [vehicle] is completely unique and built with its own kind of character and passion.”
This year’s Deuce Days kicked off on July 14 when hundreds of motorists disembarked from the MV Coho ferry. The next day, participants gathered at the Grand Pacific Hotel for a public social meeting.
The Poker Run saw drivers go around checkpoints, drawing a playing card at each one and finally seeing who had the best poker hands.
The final and biggest Deuce Days event is Sunday, when the cars will be on display around Victoria’s Inner Harbor and nearby streets from 9am to 4pm
“I love cars and that’s what I do in the summer,” said Dan Dertien, who has been photographing vintage cars since the 1960s. “It’s just passion. It’s something you just have inside of you.”
Dertien and his wife, Laura Kegler, took pictures as cars drove past them on their way to Langford.
“It’s a way for some people to hold on to the past and share it with future generations,” Kegler said. “If they don’t, it’s lost forever.” And that’s part of the story.”
ngrossman@timescolonist.com
Video from CHEK News: Northwest Deuce Days in downtown Victoria
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