Vancouver’s BC Classic & Custom Car Show is an indoor car show featuring hot rods, muscle cars and 1950’s restorations at Tradex in Abbotsford in April.
CAR SHOW AND COVID-19
The event got cancelled in the spring of both 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The show did happen on the weekend of April 15th to 17th in 2022. It’s not happening in April 2023, however. Details about the event in 2024 and future years is to be confirmed.
TIP: If you like car shows, another really good one happening on the Easter Long Weekend is the Easter Vintage Car Rally. It happens at Trev Deeley Motorcycles in Vancouver on Easter Sunday. Unlike the event in Abbotsford, the Vancouver event is free to attend if you just want to see the cars.
BC Classic & Custom Car Show
If you like cars, especially one-of-a-kind custom vehicles, hot rods and mid-1900’s restorations, you’ll want to check out the BC Classic & Custom Car Show. It rains a lot in the Lower Mainland in April, so being an indoor event can make it particularly popular.
Where and When
The BC Classic & Custom Car Show is held at Abbotsford’s Tradex Centre. The venue is next door to the YXX Airport at 1190 Cornell Street.
The event was originally going to take place on the weekend of April 17th-19th in 2020. Due to COVID-19, however, the event was cancelled. The 2022 edition took place on the weekend of April 15th-17th.
The event runs from 5:00 until 10:00 pm on the Friday, from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm on the Saturday and from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm on the Sunday.
Admission Prices
Tickets at the door in 2022 cost $18 for adults, $15 for seniors (ages 55+), $10 for youth (ages 13 to 18) and free for children ages 12 and under. Two-day passes were also available for $30 and all-weekend passes cost $40. Parking at Tradex costs $7.
What to Expect
At the event you can expect to see over 225 vehicles ranging from hot rods to muscle cars. There are also customized machines that you’ll see no other place. There are some cars that are over 75 years old! The venue is also full of people who love cars, and sometimes there is even a celebrity or two!
There are also live demonstrations including, in 2022, a Pro Street Burnout Contest and a 10,000-horsepower nitromethane-powered Top Fuel Dragster.
Also at the event each year is a beer garden with a live band which typically plays music from the 1960s and 1970s.
Tips and Advice
Below are some suggestions to help you make the most out of your visit to the BC Classic & Custom Car Show.
TIP #1: If you plan to stay for only a short time, consider parking next door at the Abbotsford Airport. The entrance to the airport is a fair ways past Tradex, but the hourly-parking section where you’ll end up is actually just a 2-minute walk from the car show venue. Parking there also costs just a couple of bucks for the first hour and a dollar or so per additional hour (up to a three-hour maximum stay). This compares with about $10 for the day at Tradex.
TIP #2: If you or people in your party also like flowers, then combine your trip to the Fraser Valley with a visit to the Chilliwack Tulip Festival (which is Western Canada’s largest). Its season varies each year, but it’s usually operating by mid-April.
Other Information
To learn more about the event see the BC Classic & Custom Car Show website.
For information about the area, see our articles about Abbotsford or the Fraser Valley.
For a list of other similar Lower Mainland events, click Vancouver Car Shows.
Click Festivals & Events Calendar for a list of other events of various kinds throughout the year.
