PORT TOWNSEND — Between 125 and 150 cars are expected to be on view at the 30th annual Kiwanis Classic Car Show on Saturday.
Registration will start at 8 a.m. at Memorial Field, 550 Washington St. The show will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Admission is $5 for those 13 and older, and $2 for children 12 and younger. Active military members can attend for free.
“It’s some of the best-spent money that nobody ever had,” Tommy Dodd, one of the co-chairs of the event, said about the hobby of restoring cars.
The cars are expected from throughout the county and outlying areas, including British Columbia and Idaho, Dodd said.
One of them likely will be Jason Hollingsworth’s 1965 El Camino, a car the co-chair has been tinkering with for about 10 years.
“It’s been a work in progress,” Hollingsworth said. “It’s my driver, but I’ve been having fun modifying it. Once something breaks on it, I usually try to replace it with something better.”
Dodd said the goal is to raise about $7,000 for Kiwanis programs that benefit youth year-round, including the 4-H Club, Boy Scouts, youth football, the Jefferson County Aquatic Coalition and a weekend food program for students called Backpacks.
“Every nickel goes to the kids,” Dodd said. “It’s all just volunteer Kiwanians that do the work.”
The club plans to award trophies at 2:30 p.m. for first and second place in nearly all of its 32 categories, from stock cars, trucks and imports in specific decades to modified versions, as well as two categories for motorcycles — either 1960 and older, or 1961 and newer.
Six categories were added this year to broaden the range of years and to allow more people access to trophies, Hollingsworth said.
“It’s a camaraderie thing,” Dodd said.
“You bring your cars in, you talk cars, and you tell lies to each other about what you did or didn’t do to make your car look great.”
Other activities include a silent auction, raffle prizes throughout the day and a poker walk, where patrons can visit several downtown Port Townsend stores to pick up cards and make their best hands at the end of the day for a chance to win a gift basket sponsored by First Federal.
Hollingsworth said about 40 cars are pre-registered, roughly the same number prior to the event last year.
Many decide to make the trip depending on the weather the day of the event, he said. Saturday’s forecast calls for cloudy skies with the high temperature near 70 degrees.
Once the cars are registered, they will line up inside the stadium.
“The whole field should be full of them,” Dodd said. “They’re going to see some of the most beautiful cars.”
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
