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Photos by Will Dendis
Bob Siracusano says that he has always, as long as he can remember, been enamored with cars and hot rods. You know the type: a young guy who figures that a romantic date consists of teaching his girlfriend how to help him wax and detail his ‘63 Pontiac, right? After a 20-year career at Chevy Dealerships, he and his brother Larry bought a car dealership. And the rest is local history, filled with expansions and success in the industry – and in community service, too. Sawyer Motors and Sawyer Chevrolet are well-established and involved corporate citizens in the villages of Saugerties and Catskill.
And Siracusano’s love of a flashy car never died. The dream to sponsor his own car show became a reality in 2004, which makes this year’s event the big Number 12. Now known as the Best Little Car Show in the Northeast, the Sawyer Motors Car Show is slated to turn the town of Saugerties into a very classy parking lot on Sunday, July 12. From 1 to 6 p.m., the streets of Main and Partition will be closed to traffic to allow for the display of more than 500 cars – antiques, classics, hot rods, muscle cars – any automobile that has four wheels and still runs.
More than 10,000 car aficionados are expected to attend this free and fun event, packed with activities for the whole family: entertainment on every corner all day long, including the sounds of Lights Out, the Marinos Band, Innocent, the Greyhounds and Betsy & the Byegones; kids’ activities, such as a bounce house, face-painting, nail-painting, beanbag toss and lots more; live broadcasting by WBPM Radio, with the awarding of more than 50 trophies to car-owners and other prizes to attendees, including a $2,000 cash prize raffle. Village shops and restaurants will be open for business as usual, and food vendors will be on hand.
Every year, a non-profit group or organization is chosen to be recipient of the proceeds of the event, generated by registration donations from all those flashy cars. “Sawyer Motors has recently formed their own foundation,” says Macy Siracusano. “The Sawyer Automotive Foundation allows us to touch more people in the community who are in need. So rather than sending out one check this year, we hope to send out ten beneficiary checks. Funds are raised through the registration fees, and all our sponsors and other locals have also donated. Pretty much the entire community is involved.” She said that recipients are still being chosen, and the Foundation is really excited about being able to spread the goodness to so many in 2015.
Preregistration is over, but 100 spaces have been reserved for last-minute registrants, so to get a parking place to show off your cherry model, call Sawyer Motors at (845) 246-3412 or show up at M & T Bank at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Donated registration fees are $25, $50 $75 and $100.
Sawyer Motors Car Show, Sunday, July 12, 1-6 p.m., free, Main & Partition Streets, Village of Saugerties; (845) 246-4560, www.sawyermotorscarshow.com.