[Correction: This story incorrectly stated the show would take place on June 14 and June 15. There will be no show on June 15. The Chronicle apologizes for the error.]
Every second Saturday through September, car buffs and car admirers will get a chance to see a variety of cars on display during the Homewood Car Cruise organized as a fundraiser for Anew: Building Beyond Violence.
The show is organized by Dan’s Classics, an auto repair shop in downtown Homewood, and the Off the GRID (Gifting Resources to Inspire Dreams) Car Club, a South Holland-based nonprofit organization.
Homewood Car Cruise will take place in the Harwood Avenue communter parking lot and will begin Saturday, June 14. Other dates include July 12, Aug. 9, Sept. 13.
The 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. time for the show is meant to overlap with Homewood’s Outdoor Farmers Market, which runs from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 11.
While attendance is free, there will likely be a jar for attendees to make a donation to support Anew’s work, said Dan Turvey, owner of Dan’s Classics and a Homewood resident.
Grady’s Snack ‘N Dine will sell breakfast food at the car show, Turvey said.
Off the GRID Car Club founder Walt Hinton said Anew, the domestic violence support organization based in Homewood, gave him a list of items it needs, such as clothes, diapers, soap and dishwashing liquid. He said the money raised at the car show will be used to purchase these items.
An individual interested in having their car in the show will pay a $10 fee. A vendor pays a $100 fee.
“It would be really fun to have the general Homewood population that comes to the Farmers Market every week be able to swing by and see a little bit of what we do,” Turvey said. “I think that could be a different crowd than who would usually come to a car show.”
Dan’s Classics usually repairs only cars built before 1980, Turvey said, with a focus on old American muscle cars. His team will occasionally repair souped-up cars or “hot rods” made in the mid to late 1980s, but that is a rare exception.
“The guys I hire, the way the shop’s set up and the pricing structure, (it) is all built around ‘this is a toy car that I have that’s just for fun that I take out on the weekends,'” Turvey said.
Turvey expects around 50 cars will be displayed at Homewood Car Cruise. He said the individual who owns the car will be there to answer questions. Some cars are owned by Dan’s Classics customers who Turvey said mostly live in the South Suburbs and Northwest Indiana. Occasionally customers come to his shop from the greater Chicagoland area.
Hinton said that cars owned by Off the GRID Car Club members will be featured at the show. He clarified that the car owners won’t exclusively be Off the GRID Car Club members and Dan’s Classics customers, nor will the cars exclusively be classic cars.
Off the GRID Car Club has hosted fundraising events to support local food pantries, combat homelessness and find missing children.
“The heart and soul of our club is to give back to the community,” Hinton said. “We’ve been blessed to be able to afford this expensive hobby, and at some point, it’s something bigger than us.”
