Car show making return to Scottdale near Gazebo Park

The Scottdale Car Show is revving up to return to the community for the first time since June 21, 2008.

This year, a joint effort by the Scottdale Parks Commission and the Scottdale Chamber of Commerce has brought it back.

The car show will be hosted in downtown Scottdale on Pittsburgh and Spring streets next to Gazebo Park from 6-9 p.m. June 21. The event will take place rain or shine.

“Our main goals for this event are to attract community members into the downtown area, to show the beautiful renovations at Gazebo Park and support some of our local nonprofits,” said Andy Pinskey, Scottdale Parks Commission committee member.

The car show will feature food, raffles, musical entertainment and prizes for car owners.

Larry Conn, host of the “Music Hall of Fame” from WLSW FM 103.9 Music Power 104, will be paying music and will be joined by Rick Thomas, who will serve as the emcee.

“Western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio have the largest amount of classic and muscle cars in the nation,” said Pinskey. “We're hoping that this will be a great event for all of the classic car owners in the area to come out and show their vehicles.”

Attendees do not need to register for the event beforehand. All car owners will register on the day of the event when they arrive. The fee for registration is $5, as well as one non-perishable food item to be donated to the Scottdale Food Pantry located at Christ United Methodist Church on Market Street. Additional donations to the food bank also will be accepted and appreciated.

However, it's best to be one of the first to register as the first 100 vehicles to attend and register will receive a prize bag, donated by Scottdale Chamber of Commerce.

Pinskey formed an exploratory committee with Colleen Kenney of the parks commission along with Jennifer Olack and Mary Jo Hixson of the chamber of commerce to look at potential future opportunities at the car show.

“We're really getting our feet wet with this. It's the first time this group has hosted the event and we're looking at future opportunities because we really want this to be an annual event,” he said. “Some ideas we've had are creating a scholarship for local students or a donation to a local nonprofit.”

Food will be sold by local nonprofits in order to raise funds for their organization. Some which will be attending include the Scottdale Kiwanis, the Salvation Army, the Scottdale Volunteer Fire Department and the Jacobs Creek Area Faith in Action group.

In addition, the parks commission and the chamber of commerce also will host booths at the car show. These booths will feature delicious regional foods including pulled pork, cabbage and noodles, Chick-fil-A sandwiches, hot sausage, steak hoagies and hot dogs, as well as beverages. There is no charge to set up a booth, so nonprofit groups are encouraged to set up at the event.

Attendees will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite vehicles and award prizes to the winners. First-, second- and-third place trophies will be awarded in three categories: Best Car, Best Truck and Best Motorcycle.

Trophies for winners are sponsored by the Scottdale Bank & Trust Co., Standard Bank and Scottdale Borough Mayor Chuck King.

A 50/50 raffle and a Chinese auction also is scheduled. In addition, several local businesses including King's Super Tire, Mongell Tire, Meegan Ford and Huffman's Auto Sales, Inc. have donated apparel such as hats and T-shirts, as well as other items that will be raffled.

In addition to the nonprofits that will be present, the car show has generated tremendous support from local businesses and organizations in the form of donations and sponsorships.

Road signs throughout Scottdale advertising the car show were underwritten by Speclin Emergency Vehicles Sales & Services, Inc. Dash plaques for participating car owners are sponsored by Graft-Jacquillard Funeral & Cremation Services. Huffman's Auto Sales, Inc. has made a donation to the car show and is a sponsor of the event. In addition to the classic cars that will be shown, Meegan Ford and Crivelli Chevrolet will be presenting new trucks at the car show.

The car show is in cooperation with the borough of Scottdale and the borough council and is underwritten King and the Scottdale Bank & Trust Co.

Any questions regarding the event can be posed to Pinskey at 724-887-6541.

Kaidia Pickels is a contributing writer.