On June 18, car lovers cruised into town for the Downtown Naperville Alliance’s Classic Car Show.
“There’s some hard core car people out there. So they love coming and seeing each other at events like this. It’s nice to see some people returning, it’s nice to see new faces and its just what a beautiful day we ended up with for a great event like this,” said Executive Director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance Danielle Tufano.
The car show has become a regular event along Jackson Avenue on Father’s Day weekend. It’s a chance for owners to meet up and bring their old cars to share a bit of automotive history with the public.
“It’s always fun to see the cars and talk with people about Model A’s. Most people don’t really know much about the 90-year-old cars and they’re pretty foreign to them. So it’s fun to teach them a little about them,” said treasurer of the Model A Ford Club Lindy Williams.
It’s More Than Just Cars
This time around there were 100 vehicles on display – and not just cars. Seven tractors from the Good Ole Toys Tractor Club were also included in the mix.
“We bring our tractor, we call it a portable agricultural museum and just the fact that we just get to sit and visit with people and reminisce, and they all go and remember things they used to do on the farm,” said Mayor of The Good Ole Toys Tractor Club, Tom Kuhn.
Many owners have been involved since the start of the show, and wanted to keep that tradition rolling.
“I like to see the other cars. Many of them are from the era of my youth and that’s always fun to see and talk to the owners, reminiscing about what we did when we were young about cars,” said Williams.
The show also had a nice set up for kids, as it was the kickoff to the summer sculpture series on the Naperville streets. This time around, the sculptures are, fittingly, pickup trucks.
“This is our official launch set up for that. We’ve got our prize wheel set up on our table where we’re giving away prizes, construction hard hats so people can be involved. Little kids can be involved with the construction that’s happening right down the street,” said Tufano.
History Lesson
Whether you enjoy the pickup trucks or the old cars, what participants truly hope people walk away with from this event is …
“To take away a little more appreciation for the old cars, and also the amount of work that goes into restoring one of these cars.” Williams said.
Naperville News 17 Patrick Codo reports.