entertainment
Drag Racing on Main Street!?
Wes McCarville of the Warrenton Hobby Shoppe started roping off a section of Main Street for people to race their remote control vehicles on weekend evenings during the COVID pandemic, and it’s been a hit ever since, drawing RCV lovers and spectators from a wide area.
Warrenton Hobby Shoppe’s weekend Remote Control Vehicle races are a unique draw to Old Town BY PAM KAMPHUIS PHOTOS BY LUKE CHRISTOPHER
I
f you’ve been up to Old Town Warrenton on Friday or Saturday nights in the summer, you already know the streets are closed, the restaurants put out tables, and there’s live music. Those that sit outside at Molly’s Irish Pub will also hear Wes McCarville of the Warrenton Hobby Shoppe shouting, “Drivers, are you ready? Go on the light!”, followed by the buzzing of multiple remote control vehicles as they race in the closed street and spectators cheering.
60 Warrenton Lifestyle A U G U S T
2022
It’s one good thing that has come out of the COVID epidemic in Warrenton. In June of 2020, after the pandemic started, McCarville and his partner Lori Gibson received a phone call at the shop from the town. They were brainstorming about keeping Old Town as alive and active as was possible at the time while still remaining safe. They asked an open-ended question: “Can you do something?” McCarville and Gibson, who had only owned the shop for