Students from John McGregor Secondary School will get up close and personal with some classic cars next week.
The high school in Chatham has teamed up with the Historic Downtown Chatham BIA and the Kent Historic Auto Club for a Mini Classic Car Show on Monday, April 14.
The event started out as a way to get some classic cars to the school for the art students to paint for Retrofest.
"They're going to do some photography, take some still shots of 14 vintage automobiles. They're then going to do some paintings that will be on display during Retrofest this year, which is celebrating their 25th anniversary," said teacher Ken Gall. "So to be a part of that is pretty cool as well."
Gall added that it started out as just a small photo session for the art students, then the entire school got involved, and it turned into something much bigger.
"It's grown into a mini car show that we're going to host. We're going to have some live music, we're going to have a retro costume contest as well. We're going to have some food vendors on site, so we're really excited about the event on Monday," said Gall.
The art students will then work on their paintings and photographs ahead of Retrofest on May 23 and 24 in downtown Chatham.
"The photography and the paintings that are going to be on display during Retrofest," said student Caleb Lewsaw. "Some of the places downtown are having the paintings in their windows, which is a really nice opportunity for us students."
Weather permitting, the vehicles will be lined up along Cecile Avenue from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
Registration is not required, but classic car owners who are interested in attending can contact Ken Gall at JMSS by calling (519) 354-1740 so they know how many vehicles to expect.
