We began attending the “car” part of the
American Heritage Festival in 2006. That year it
was a sprawling show all along Sophia St and the little side streets that
included the parking lot across from the parking garage. In 2007 and all the years after that, the
show was limited to the parking lot across from the parking garage. In 2008 the organizer of the Heritage
Festival contacted Brent, who was the contact person of Stafford Classics Car
Club, about managing an event in the parking lot on the Fourth. Since I was a member of the club at that
time, I volunteered to manage the event in 2008. Other club members; Dan, Andrew, Brent and
Tony assisted me in the planning and execution of the event. The theme was the evolution of automobiles in
America, beginning with Dom’s 1919 Model T up to Stuart’s ’06 GT-40. We had a great diversity to show the
spectators. We also secured a sponsor,
VA Paving, so we could give all the participants that brought out their special
vehicle something to take home them as a thank you for spending the day with us
while they shared their vehicle with the spectators. We also showcased the race car of Ray &
Terry that ran as a supporter of Wounded Warrior Project. We wanted the event to do something for
someone else….not just the cars in the display.
Our little group did the same thing in 2009 except the theme was the
American Pick Up; all vehicles were trucks from a 1923 model T to a 2008 Dodge
Ram. The spectators loved it and the
Wounded Warrior Project race car once again raised the awareness quotient
substantially for Veterans concerns.
There is an old established show in Culpeper, VA
on the Fourth of July too. We had wanted
to attend it and some of our friends kept encouraging us to go and see. So in 2010 we decided to give it a go. We liked it so much we kept going in 2011 and
2012….it was a good show, see my other blog for the reports I made on it.
At a meeting in mid January this year our group,
Cruisin For Heroes, decided we needed to explore attending the Fredericksburg
event as part of our marketing strategy to showcase our current charity, Fisher
House. We began contacting Brent in mid January
to ask if we could bring a small group of cars to his event in the Burg. He was glad to have us back and I committed to
bring 15 vehicles to his party. One of
the 15 would be the Fisher House racecar of Ray & Terry so we could again
raise awareness for a Veteran’s cause. We started making contacts in February for the
event participants and had most of our lineup done by May.
At 6AM on the Fourth of July our little band of
vehicles left the Stafford WAWA and cruised to Fredericksburg, VA. We started arriving in the parking lot around
6:30 and the other participants started rolling in soon after. By 8AM the lot was almost full and we began
to set up for a hot and steamy day. The
Fourth always seems to be a very hot day….at the event in ’07 one of the club
members was exhibiting early signs of heat stroke and we had to help him cool
down quickly. That same year the
paramedics had to rescue a spectator from heat related stress. So it’s usually hot at this venue and this
year did not break the trend!
The event is a display, not a show. There is no competition or stress about winning
anything….we just stay near our rides and talk to the spectators as they roam
through the display. The purpose of the
display is to provide the spectators with something else interesting to see while
they visit the Festival and a person to talk to about each vehicle. This is sometimes kinda tough because it’s
natural for the participants to bunch up to socialize, which makes an
intimidating situation for the spectators to ask questions. So those of us who can, stay by our vehicles….often
alone all day. Stuart is a great example
of that dedication to our mission….he parked himself behind his blue Cobra all
day….all day! He was up out of his chair
talking to people most of the day, not much rest in the heat….but that’s how
Stuart does it. And Ray & Terry were
interacting with people all day around their race car….putting kids in it for
pictures and answering questions…..but that’s what they do. Most of the participants were accessible for
questions, that’s what the day is for.
This year I began to understand the impact we
can have on people at an event like this.
Since I wasn’t “running” anything I took the time to watch the different
interactions between spectators and participants. Darryl told us of a man in a wheelchair that
was being pushed by his son and he was giving the vehicles a cursory look until
he came to Frank’s ’39 Chevy sedan. He
started pointing to the car and talking to his son….he got up out of the
wheelchair and examined the car closer while talking to his son. The car had struck a memory that he wanted to
replay for a while….the man seemed energized and walked the rest of the display
while he inspected the remaining vehicles!
I watched while a little girl shyly walked to our Fisher House donation
barrel so she could deposit some money her dad had given her….as she left she
glanced over her shoulder and gave me a quick little smile! She probably didn’t understand about Fisher
House but she knew she had done something good….she will remember that. And so many Veterans stopped by to tell their
story and so many people wanted to know what Fisher House was? The first most asked question is; ‘what year
is it?’ followed by; ‘I had one of those when I was a kid’ or ‘I always wanted
one of those when I was a kid’. Always
interesting, always fun. So….the day was
a cathartic experience for me….all of us in our “car” community get recognition
about our rides at shows and cruises….but for this deal we give back. This is about the spectators, not us.
I was on my feet half of the day talking or
taking pictures in the thermonuclear heat…..I think it was about 472 degrees! But while I was sitting under the Cruisin For
Heroes canopy, cooling off and talking with Fred and Denny, I was attacked from
behind by a strange woman. She started rubbing my head and whispering in my ear….she
was obviously delusional….maybe the heat.
Then she strolled across the shade and attacked Denny, fondling his
chest and asking him if he had any money?
I was about ready to call the local mental hospital and tell them where
their escaped patient was when the ladies in the canopy behind us, Debie,
Arlene and the Princess, started to roar laughing. They were hooting and hollering….laughing and
pointing at us. They had put that gullible
woman up to that….they are so mean! You
know what they say about paybacks….grin
Around
3:30 we started to break camp and leave for cooler climes. A
couple of us stopped by Family Diner and talked about what happened that day….we
all had a lot to think about….but we did have a great day in the Berg.
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