Classic Car Show has a new home

The annual Grand Marais Classic Car Show has a new home.

City councilors granted a request presented by Chamber of Commerce Director Bev Wolke at their March 9 meeting to move the cars from the traditional location on the Artists Point parking lot to Wisconsin Street. In order to accommodate the relocation, council allowed the street to be closed down for the day by a 3-1 vote.

Wolke said the Chamber has been kicking the idea around for a while, mainly because of the “excruciatingly cold” conditions on the Point; a desire to pull more people — both exhibitors and car show visitors — into the downtown businesses; and to increase visibility for the event, which is often not noticed in the more remote location on the Point by passersby on the highway or even downtown visitors. “Many people don’t realize there is a car show unless they see it,” said Wolke.

In order to gauge support for the proposal, Wolke said a poll was taken of the downtown businesses, and everybody who responded said they were excited and in favor of the change. But Councilor Jan Sivertson, who owns a Wisconsin Street art gallery and said she wasn’t in town when the survey was done, said she was “not completely for” the new plan, and warned that careful consideration must be done before Wisconsin Street is closed down for an entire day — especially a summer Saturday.

Sivertson said it’s a big deal when the main street through town is closed for a day, and pointed out that the only time that’s usually done is during Fisherman’s Picnic. Even the Art Fair, which is about “branding” Grand Marais, requires only the closing of a portion of Wisconsin Street, said Sivertson. “It’s a real concern when you have a business and pay the taxes we do…and there are only 12 of them [summer weekends] a year to make money,” said Sivertson. “To close the streets willy-nilly is a big consideration.”

Wolke replied that there was a lot of consideration put into the request, and the car show is an established event that has been held for 20-plus years and attracts about 1,500 visitors to the city along with 60-70 classic cars and their owners, many of whom come from far away, stay overnight and patronize local restaurants and other businesses. “This is not something that’s being done willy-nilly,” the Chamber director said. “It’s not like it’s some carnival coming through.”

Councilor Bill Lenz said he would like to see the new idea tried this year, and motioned that the venue be changed with the stipulation that downtown business owners be polled again after the event to find out if they preferred it over the Artist Point location. “If not, we won’t even consider it again,” Lenz said. Sivertson cast the lone no vote; Councilor Tim Kennedy was absent.

The Classic Car Show will be held June 11, and the street permit calls for Wisconsin Street to be closed off at both ends between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Wolke said the event will be followed, as usual, by a parade of the classic cars through the city.

In other news:

Granting a citizen request, council approved the designation of a parking space on Wisconsin Street in front of the Blue Water Café as a handicap-only space. City Administrator Mike Roth observed that the space would likely be empty 80 percent of the time, so the designation "doesn’t come without controversy" because it means the loss of a parking space in the business district. The city has only two other such-designated parking spaces: one near the pharmacy, and the other at the library.

Council approved a Storefront Loan request for $15,000 to the Grand Marais Hotel Company to finance a new sign, roofing and front door replacement at the Super 8 Motel. The loan program is administered through the Chamber of Commerce and allows businesses to borrow up to $15,000 for five years at 3 percent interest.