Keith Chilicki of Batavia brought his wife and four children to the annual fundraising car show Sunday staged by the Batavia Overseas VFW and Auxiliary, an event which he said his son was particularly excited about.
“My son, he loves cars, and the three girls like coming along,” Chilicki said during the car show staged at the Batavia Overseas VFW Post at 645 S. River St. in Batavia. “He’s already starting to work on the cars with me. I learned from my dad and he had a 1930 Model A. My son Dean, who is 5, wants a Mustang when he grows up.”
Visitors were able to enjoy food, a 50/50 raffle, cocktails and more as they wandered through rows of what organizers said would include more than 150 cars.
Burgers, hot dogs and more were made by volunteers manning grills who also sold beverages.
Now in its fourth year, the car show was first offered during the pandemic through efforts led by the president of the boosters group at the VFW, Joe Ledermann, formerly of Batavia, who has since relocated to Paris, Tennessee.
He said he remains president on the group and still maintains a summer home in the area.
“We started this, me and my vice president Marty Hamilton, and we weren’t sure how this was going to go,” Ledermann said. “The first year, we had 210 cars and the last two years we’ve had maybe 160 the second year and things tapered off to 145 last year. We still like the turnout but we think having the pandemic going on gave us a boost as there weren’t a lot of other things going on.”
Hamilton of Elburn said the site at the VFW helps visitors enjoy the day.
“We have a lot of shade here behind the building and so people remain comfortable,” he said. “The shade helps a lot. If we have to be in the parking lot it’s only because we’ve had too much rain.”
Ledermann said despite many shows available in the summer he sees no signs of car show fatigue.
“People who are into cars always show up anyway,” he said. “It’s whatever their preference is and the first time we had this we’d have been happy with 70 cars but were overwhelmed with over 200 cars showing up.”
Shows have been averaging at least 500 to 600 visitors a year, organizers said.
The annual fundraiser has netted about $22,000 to $24,000 a year for the VFW, Ledermann said.
There are not restrictions on car entries, Ledermann said, noting that the show “has brought us some Studebakers, as well as cars from the ’30s through the ’60s.”
Brian Grysiewicz of Oswego was certainly showing off one of the more eye-popping, though not vintage, cars with a 2023 Lamborghini.
“This isn’t vintage – just expensive. When I go down the road it garners a lot of attention,” Grysiewicz said while admiring his car. “Years ago, I started developing an interest. I’ve been into cars since I was 15 years old. My first car was a 1977 Road Runner. I moved on up to Z-28s, Cameros, Corvettes and a Porsche. This is my biggest thing I’ve had but also the most fun and enjoyable car I’ve ever had. These cars are meant to be looked at and driven. They’re meant to be enjoyed.”
Nicole Waltman of North Aurora said her husband was showing off two cars at the show and said she “liked looking at older cars.”
“My husband restores them and since we got married I’ve been forced to be more involved but I really like looking at the old cars and how beautiful they used to be. It’s like art work,” Waltman said. “When you look at some of the intricate designs and the craftsmanship in putting these cars together, I think this is a piece of history and so much is getting lost.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
