York Auto Show to Boost Local Athletics
YORK, Maine—Parking lots and fields of
York High School will be transformed into a dreamscape for car aficionados of all stripes, when the second annual York Auto Show is expected to draw as many as 600 cars, trucks and motorcycles on June 23, 2020. Car owners and visitors alike will contribute to a good cause. Funds raised will go to the York High School Athletics Boosters. Last year, the show drew 200 cars and raised $18,000, which allowed the Boosters to begin replacing aging equipment in the high school fitness room, and funds to meet the needs of coaches and athletes. This year’s event promises to be even bigger, said Boosters member Steve Bricker, the show coordinator who’s been restoring cars for a long time. “Car shows are a hobby and passion,” he said. “I thought, Why not here? We have a unique location, an hour from Boston, Portland and Manchester, a tourist area, a location that works well. That’s how it started.” “Car show season” follows the warm weather months and begins in June. “I wanted the show on the early side of the season. Everyone wants to get their car out of their garage and get it out on the road.” But especially when it comes to antique cars, owners don’t want to travel a far distance. York’s in a perfect location. Bricker has reached out to many car clubs in the region and found “when I talk |
to these communities, our mission to help
students is well received.” He’s also found car show organizers are willing to share tricks of the trade. There will a special category this year for 50th anniversary cars from 1970 that will draw a lot of interest. Other categories include hot rods, exotics, trucks, Jeeps, classic 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, Corvettes, muscle cars, Mustangs, Mopars, Camaros and Firebirds, street machines, Eurosports, VWs, pre-1950 antiques, and motorcycles. Attendees can vote for their favorites. Winners receive trophiesw. Incoming Athletics Booster president Darcy Bastarache said the “mission to help students is key. Two-thirds of the student body at York High participates in sports in some way, as athletes or managers, but even those who don’t participate benefit from the fitness room updates; fitness is a required course for all students.” York is a “minimum receiver” school department. As such, it receives about 7% of what it takes to fund essential programs and services from the state; other school departments in Maine receive up to 70%. The projected state subsidy in York for the coming fiscal year is $2.2 million. “It really handicaps York schools,” she said. “If we’re not going to be supplemented by the state, we have to find another way to support our athletic programs.” |
The Boosters fund scholarships, training
for coaches, equipment, and even one-off requests like helping defray transportation costs for a YHS swimmer who swims with the Kennebunk High School team. Bricker and Bastarache said they are looking forward to a bigger and better auto show this year and in years to come. “We have capacity for 700 cars. We’d love to see that many.” Bricker said. Key sponsors York Hospital, Coastal Kitchen and Bath Designs, Key Ford of York, and Saco Bay Orthopaedic and Sports are among 32 sponsors from around York and the Seacoast. Sunday, June 23, York High School parking area by the auditorium and nearby fields. Gates open at 8 a.m. Event closes with an awarding of trophies at 3 p.m. Gen. admission $5; kids under 12: FREE. Show car fee: $10 (includes one passenger) Parking is available at Grain Surfboard/ Rocky Acre Farm Stand property on Webber Road and Smith Field on Ridge Road; limited parking is also available on site on the main entrance side of the school and by the football field. Visit theyorkautoshow.com or the York Auto Show Facebook page. Contact: 207 252-1807 • [email protected] |