John Sanders: Car show, parade a labor of love of Modesto
The members of the North Modesto Kiwanis Club extend our thanks to everyone who helped make our 17th American Graffiti parade and festival the best ever. Our Friday night parade had almost 1,000 vehicles and many businesses along the parade route had parties. It was wonderful. The weekend car show and festival was at Modesto Municipal Golf Course, which we hope becomes our permanent home.
The parade is free but very expensive to produce. Costs include toilets, signs, barricades and cleanup. We absorb this cost because we consider this an important service to our community. For many years, our festival/car show entry fee was $7. This year we raised it to $10; children 12 and under are free. Thank you for understanding the need for the increase.
Car owners pay $40 to enter in our event, with 100 percent going to charities. We also had more than 100 food and non-food vendors. There were also plenty of activities for the kids to enjoy.
Our 95 members and many, many volunteers do it all. Our club contributes to about 55 groups and organizations each year. Every dollar saved by using our volunteers and coming from our generous sponsors is returned to the community. Our members put in hundreds of hours to produce the parade and car festival, often paying for materials out of their pockets.
We are proud and grateful that our three-day event is supported by people from throughout the county and beyond. We had 1,245 vehicles entered from five states and 123 cities!
Our 18th Modesto American Graffiti Car Show and Festival will be June 10-12, 2016. Hope to see you there.
John Sanders, General Chairman, North Modesto Kiwanis Club
This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 5:59 PM with the headline "John Sanders: Car show, parade a labor of love of Modesto."