KINGSTON — With the purr of an engine and sound of squealing tires, hundreds of hot rods, race cars, motorcycles and other vehicles will pull into the Kennedy Industrial Park in Kingston to drive in some dough for a local charity.
The fourth annual Just Because Show and Shine car show will take to the asphalt at 8 a.m. Aug. 20 and is free with a donation of money or non-perishable food, all of which will go straight to the Kingston ShareNet Food Bank.
“It’s an open show, hopefully guys cruising around will see it and stop by,†said car show organizer Dale Gerber. “Our theme is ‘If you love it, bring it.’ Too many (car shows) are too serious. There are no trophies at this one, no hurt feelings if your car doesn’t win anything.â€
For Gerber, the event is all about raising money for charity, and having a fun at the same time. He said it started almost four years ago when he decided to help local residents in need.
“I’ve been a car guy forever,†Gerber said. “I wanted to do a car show in the area. It started as a car show, but I was also looking for a charity to support.â€
“This is huge,†said ShareNet Executive Director Lisa Defayette. “It’s a tremendous help to us with food and stock. Almost one half of our year’s funding and food comes from it.â€
The first year, the car show started out small, raising $5,000 for the food bank. The next year it was up to $11,000, then last year the fund raiser rolled in $22,000. Gerber said he’s hopeful that this year’s donations will doubled those of last year, continuing in the trend.
“We’ve had a great time,†said Cam Corey of Corey Signs. He and his brother Scott help out with the event every year by printing signs and dash plaques. “Dale’s a car buff, and he came to us and told us what he wanted to do and asked if we wanted to be involved.â€
Corey said they signed up to assist with the event. This year, Gerber is predicting that more than 350 different vehicles will be displayed, and each one will receive a dash plaque.
“Kids just love seeing the shiny cars,†Corey said. “The cars that show up are amazing. Some people have spent $100,000 on their cars. Some are just 20 year olds that someone is working on themselves.â€
The day will offer not only beautiful cars to drool over, but food, the pounding tunes of “Been There… Done That,†a children’s coloring contest and a raffle.
“This is our only outside fund raiser,†Defayette said. “It provides us with not only the basics but a little bit more. We can provide not just food, but good food.â€
“We’re trying to raise some serious money,†Gerber said. “We need to give back to the community.â€