Car show proves to be a hit
Editor’s note: This article first ran on May 17, though not in its entirety. The Evening Leader apolgizes for the error.
Vancrest of St. Marys had a very busy Saturday, with the organization holding the Car and Craft Show for the second time this year at their facility.
Running to 3 p.m., the event brought families and car owners from all over to come and enjoy the festivities. The event featured cars of all makes, models and years as well as a variety of concessions, crafts and activities for children that entire families could participate in.
Brent Cramer of Gainesville, Florida himself was visiting family and figured he would have show off his specially designed 2020 Ford F-150 to the crowd of onlookers at the event. This wasn’t his first car show, having been to many in his home state with his truck, which he painted as a tribute to James Cameron’s movie “Avatar.”
“I bought it brand new. It was just a stock F-150,” stated Cramer about how he acquired the vehicle. He said that he had a vision of what he wanted to turn it into, which was a show truck. “I show it down in Florida, I’ve got six different trophies down there in the last year with it. He’s a little known down there already in the car scene.”
The idea for the design came from him watching the movie and he figured that the way the truck looked already made it a perfect opportunity. He plans on passing the car down to his grandkids when he decides to retire the car from shows.
The show also featured classic cars as well, with Larry Dragosavac presenting his 1940 Chevy Coupe for the people at the show. Dragosavac bought the car the way it looked in 2014 and has been going to shows along Route 66 to have fun with his friends.
“We go to probably 10 or 15 a year,” said Dragosavac. He’s been as far as Arizona with the vehicle and does plan on heading to many more shows in the future. “We’re going to do another trip in October. We’re going to down to Mississippi to do the Cruise In the Gulf.”
He said that he plans on doing as many trips as he can with the vehicle and he doesn’t plan on making any adjustments to the vehicle at this time. Dragosavac is looking forward to the other events he’ll participate in the near future.
The event attracted a lot of attention thanks to these vehicles and the craft shows that were present, with residents of Vancrest helping sell some items.
Rebecca Phillips, a resident who’s lived in Vancrest for two and half years now, said that all the crafts sold at the show were made by the residents themselves.
“We got all different types of pictures that we painted, different styles,” said Phillips about the crafts they sold. The crafts were part of an initiative that staff at Vancrest and one of the resident’s relatives did through some donations that were made to the organization.
Phillips stated that the money made from selling the crafts would be put back into buying more supplies for the residents. The activities are something that keeps the resident’s hands and minds busy, something which Phillips is grateful for.
“It’s brought in some people that can find out what Vancrest is like if they ask any of us,” Phillips stated about the event itself. “They can find out that it’s just not sitting around doing nothing, that there are things to do.”
Phillips says that she is very thankful for the work that the Vancrest staff does, as well for what they’re able to do while living at the facility. For more information on Vancrest of St. Marys and other events it offers to the community can be found at their Facebook page or at HCStmarys.Vancrest.com.