Car show at Food Fest
Automobile aficionados will be able to feast their eyes - as well as their taste buds - at the third annual Rotary Food Fest which will be staged on the weekend of Aug. 25-26 in downtown Westfield.
For the first time, the Food Fest will include a car show which will bring as many as 50 vintage and customized cars to Elm Street which will be closed to vehicular traffic from School Street to Franklin Street for the event. Visitors to the Food Fest will be able to get an up-close and personal looks at stunning examples of the cars of yesterday and today as the owners of the cars show off their treasures and compete for prizes.
The car show is a new addition to the Food Fest (now in it’s third year) sponsored by the Rotary Club of Westfield. The free two day event will begin on Friday at 5 p.m. and close for the night at 10 p.m. The street festival will resume on Saturday at noon and will will feature food and drink from local restaurants and food trucks as well as entertainment from local musicians.
Rotarian Jennifer Gruszka, a co-chair of this year’s festival, said the goal of the event is “to showcase local businesses as well as the downtown area.” The Westfield Rotarians will be selling beer and wine to adults at the festival which will enjoy live coverage from local FM radio station WSKB.
Gruszka said that proceeds from the event will be returned to the community by the club in the form of grants for service projects which promote Rotary’s areas of focus.
As space to display cars is limited on Elm Street only the first 50 registrants will be able to participate in the car show. The site will open to participants at 11 a.m. and all cars must be in place when the Food Fest resumes at noon. The car show will continue until 3 p.m. although the Food Fest will not end until 10 p.m.
Car owners who wish to participate or learn more about the car show are encouraged to send an email to foodfestcars@gmail.com. The advance registration fee for the car show will be $10 while registration on the day of the event (as space is available) will be $15.
For sponsorship opportunities or to become a vendor at the Food Fest, please contact Gruszka at jennifergruszka45@gmail.com or visit the club’s website, westfieldrotary.org.