The Edge at the Stettler Hotel was full to the brim on Saturday, June 25, though it wasn't the typical bar crowd that had the venue thrumming.
It was Rolls Royce Owners Club members, family and friends, as well as curious car aficionados who packed the hotel's club, and decorated the streets outside with their Rolls Royce and Bentley cars.
The club has chapters around the world, with each having different regions. The North America club has the Can-AM Prairie Region, which has 47 members from Alberta, Montana, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and is home to about 100 cars, member Howard Lengert said.
Lengert, who travelled in his green 1951 Silver Cloud I, came to Stettler from Calmar, located southwest of Leduc. He is Canada's largest Rolls Royce/Bentley collector, and has 22 cars in his collection at present.
"The club is dedicated to the preservation, restoration and appreciation of the Rolls Royce and Bentley cars," he explained.
Many of the vehicles made by Rolls Royce and Bentley are entirely unique, as the chassis was built separately from the car. Once the chassis was built, the buyer would be able to decide what type of Rolls Royce he or she wanted — a town car, a continental, etc.
Chris McAviney travelled from Calgary, where the Australian expatriot has lived since 1978. He drove in with his wife in a dark blue 1996 Bentley Continental R.
It's just one of the three he owns, the others being a 1935 20/25 and a 1963 Silver Cloud III.
According to Hotel owner Kimberly Ko, the event went well.
"I was very happy," she said. "They enjoyed it and said they will make Stettler an annual event."
Ko escaped from the kitchen, where she worked to make the evening's dinner, to play several songs on the piano, delighting the crowd with the classical music. She played selections from Chopin and Beethoven, amongst others.
The evening capped off with a performance from band Tap 9.