Importfest 2001: Toronto, ON

Event Coverage Shaun Keenan

Photography by Dave MacKinnon & Richard Robles

Since its opening June 3, 1989, Toronto鈥檚 has become one of Canada鈥檚 premiere entertainment venues and permanent home to the and Clubs. But its place in the minds of Canadians, more notably Torontonians, is not only thanks to the Jays鈥� back-to-back World Series victories in the early 鈥�90s. In fact, over the years, SkyDome has hosted hundreds of other events including the Vanier Cup, Wrestlemania VI, Supercross, Monster Truck rallies and concerts by artists like the Rolling Stones, U2, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Frank Sinatra.

On Sept. 29, SkyDome once again opened its doors, and roof, to 2001 鈥� a one-day, one-night-only indoor event that united Toronto鈥檚 ever-growing import car scene and vibrant urban nightclub scene 鈥� presented by Import Styles Promotions Inc. and . The ingredients for the show rivalled that of any major production at the SkyDome and included a 145,000 sq. ft. show floor at field level, a 70,000 sq. ft. vendors alley on Level 100, tons of crazy lighting and an estimated crowd of 25,000 import fanatics.

People traveled from all over Eastern Canada and parts of the U.S. to join in the festivities. Jerome 鈥淭he Junkyard Dog鈥� Williams and Mo Pete of the were among some of the celebrity sightings. Even R.J. de Vera, from the Hollywood blockbuster The Fast and The Furious, couldn鈥檛 resist the temptation to introduce his new line of signature rims, RoJa, to Canada. Besides local vendors, Import Fest sponsors like APC, Future Shop, Meguiar鈥檚, Motegi Racing, E.H. Electronics, APR Performance, Saber Performance, Wheel & Tire Zone and TPS were on hand.

The doors opened at 11 A.M. and the daylight hours were spent under the sun. The 450+ sweet rides brought great excitement to the normally demure atmosphere of the SkyDome. People lined up to snap a pic with their favourite import models, a sassy selection headlined by Rowena Galam, Natasha Yi, Lexy La Santos, Renee Chiang and May Lyn. All day long the Sony JumboTron broadcasted live video from locations throughout the show and local radio station FLOW 93.5 was on hand to spin the tunes. An ECKO fashion show and some other live acts topped off the entertainment mix.

Around 11 o鈥檆lock P.M., the awards ceremony got underway. There were hundreds of trophies to be given away; here are a few of the 鈥楤est Overall鈥� highlights: Honda 鈥� Brian Duffy鈥檚鈥�93 Civic HB. Acura 鈥� Chris Reyes鈥� 鈥�94 Integra 4DR. Toyota 鈥� Tony Santos鈥� 鈥�97 Supra. VW 鈥� Steve Aldred鈥檚 A2 Scirroco. Subaru 鈥� Gordon Woo鈥檚鈥�99 Impreza 2.5RS. Euro 鈥� Eddie Farcon鈥檚 E36 BMW 325. Domestic 鈥� George Myrkin鈥檚鈥�00 Mustang. Truck 鈥� Chad Parker鈥檚鈥�95 Chevy Blazer. Paint 鈥� Sal LaVerde鈥檚鈥�97 Cavalier. Graphics 鈥� David Brewda鈥檚鈥�99 Prelude. Body Conversion 鈥� Mike Ragno鈥檚鈥�99 Prelude. For a complete list of winners visit .

In the early hours of Sept. 30, Import Fest 2001 drew to a close and the lights were raised one final time. One by one, the crowd spilled into the streets of Toronto, eventually dissipating into the large selection of nightclubs throughout the city. Import Styles Promotions Inc. will unquestionably be back next year with an even bigger and better installment of Import Fest. Can鈥檛 speak for you, but we can hardly wait!

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