FATHER’S DAY CLASSIC CAR SHOW

For the past five years, I'm proud to be a Board of Trustee for Astoria Park Alliance. The Alliance has allowed me the opportunity to bring my skill set as a community engagement facilitator to a Park that has so much potential to be the heart of the community, but unfortunately lacks in funding and resources. 

While admiring the beautiful shoreline along Astoria Park's Shore Boulevard , something interesting caught my attention: a vintage red Thunderbird. The owner of the Thunderbird engaged in conversations with dozens of people walking by and admiring his car. After this encounter, I had the idea to produce Astoria Park's first large-scale public program, the Father's Day Classic Car Show in 2018. (I should mention that I’ve never been a "car person," but I love how cars have an ability to bring people from diverse backgrounds across all ages together).

The car show is designed as an annual fundraiser for Astoria Park Alliance. The show hosts over 150 classic cars and a record breaking attendance over 4,000 people to the Boulevard. Attendance is free, live entertainment is provided and food vendors are onsite to sell local eats. I designed a digital ranking system to cut down on paper waste and hired professional judges to score each car. The show ends with a trophy ceremony highlighting 25 contestant winners.