The event that’s raised more than $200,000 for the Renton Police Department’s youth programs returns to Renton this Sunday.
It’s the Return to Renton Benefit Car Show and it’s taking over downtown from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, July 6.
About 200 cars have been pre-registered for the show as of last week, but 400 to 500 cars are expected total on Sunday. The last two years have brought out about 485 cars.
The show features 43 judged classes, music, entertainment, raffle prizes, kids activities, vendor displays and an awards ceremony. There will be two Ferraris, worth more than $200,000 each, on display, a rare and expensive display for the Return to Renton Car Show.
“So we’ve raised about $200,000 for Renton youth,” said Jim Medzegian, event organizer. “In the early days, it went against drugs; lately it funds various programs.”
This is the 24th year for the event that just about eight years ago only raised $3,000 for its efforts. Last year, organizers were able to give $17,500 from the event to the youth programs.
“If it was just a car show, I wasn’t going to put in all my time,” said Medzegian. “But the fact that it is a fundraiser and doing good – cars are secondary to me.”
The funds go to support summer lunch and activity programs, children’s safety events, basketball hoop shoot and park and recreation scholarships. With the support of about 60 sponsors, the car show is pretty stable.
“I believe our success is based on several factors,” said Medzegian. “The show is an ‘Open Show,’ meaning we accept all types of automobiles as long as the folks register and pay the $20 entry fee. This feature attracts a huge array of classic automobiles, usually over 400 vehicles. We judge and award class winners for 43 categories. This is probably the largest number of awards for any open show in the area.”
He also said sponsors are pleased to give on behalf of the youth and the City of Renton makes sure all the accommodations are user-friendly on show day.
There will be some freebies available for the first 300 people, who will get a goodie bag. Taco Time will be onsite passing out 300 free tacos.
Parking downtown Renton will be very limited, considering streets will be closed at Third Avenue and Morris to Third Avenue and Main and all the cross streets in between. For a complete list of streets and additional information, go to www.GoRenton.com.
