Thought I was gone for the summer, didn’t you? Don’t worry, when I said I was back a few months ago, I meant it.
My schedule of events is much lighter these days than previously, but I’ve got five or six events locked in that, barring any unforeseen calamity, I won’t be missing. Last weekend I was able to tick off one of those events: The Majestics / Luxurious Toronto BBQ.
Over a decade ago I was introduced to the Lowrider community via Performance Improvements (RIP) and Switches And Thangs.
At the time, I (quite naively) thought that Lowriding was relatively small in Ontario. Thankfully, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The community was strong then and has only grown stronger over time.
It’s become so noteworthy that noteworthy members of the worldwide lowrider community have started travelling to Toronto to see exactly what we’re about.
This year, for the first time, Justlowriders TV was in town, and they made this awesome video of their experience.
Based on that video and these photos, you probably wouldn’t have known the 2026 BBQ started with a bit of a wrinkle.
This year’s event was held in Mississauga, and for whatever reason, Mississauga By-law pulled up almost immediately and asked the group to leave the originally posted venue.
Having to relocate an event after people have already shown up is a logistics nightmare I hope to never have to deal with.
Especially when from the outside looking in, the original venue looked ideal. It was fairly secluded, had ample overflow parking and a backdrop great for photography.
Some other municipalities may have looked the other way at the gathering, but I’ve run afoul of Mississauga bylaws before, and they tend not to be very lenient once they have made up their mind.
They made it clear the group couldn’t stay, but they did offer up a solution that ended up working pretty well. About five minutes up the road, at Dixie Outlet Mall, the Mississauga Classic Car Club holds a weekly cruise-in.
That location has a verified permit, and the organizers were nice enough to offer up their space for the day to the event.
As a former Mississauga resident, being able to attend a lowrider BBQ and a cruise night fairly close to my old stomping grounds was more than welcome.
Their weekly events have a great showing and, at least for that week, they were joined by all of the local lowrider clubs and solo riders who pulled up to the original venue.
There are a lot of lowriders in the Toronto area. But if you don’t know about gatherings like this chances are you won’t see more than a handful in one place at the same time.
This means many enthusiasts simply never have the opprotunity to see one up close. It wouldn’t be fair to say they outright stole the show once everyone arrived, but most people did come over and take a closer look.
The thought, care, and detail put into these cars is something any enthusiast can appreciate, regardless of what their niche of choice happens to be.
Once the hopping started even the traditionalists had to come take a look. If a car starts hopping twenty feet from where you’ve set up camp, I don’t care what you drive, you’re going to take a look.
As usual, Ash and I posted up near the front so we didn’t miss any of the action.
Hearing the reactions of the young (and young at heart) brought back memories of the first time I took Ash to a lowrider BBQ. Immediately after, lowriders shot to the top of his favourite car list about as quickly as a few of the cars hit bumper.
There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that at least one of the kids watching that day left wanting to know more about the community.
So while the day started with a bit of a hiccup, and the venue had to be swapped. Sometimes when life gives you lemons, you just have to plate them gold.
More photos below, and the next lowrider BBQ I hope to attend will be the Oldies BBQ on Saturday, August 1st. Follow them on social media for more details.
