Hot rods, classic rides, and the newest sports cars were parked in the lot behind Pacific Community Church for the Asphalt Angels Charity Car Show May 28.
The Cloverdale Community Kitchen hosted the event and all funds raised went to support Cloverdale’s local food bank.
“It was an amazing event,” said Matthew Campbell, director of both the Community Kitchen and the Fraser Valley Regional Food Bank. “We couldn’t have asked for anything better to work out. The weather cooperated, many drivers brought their cars, and a lot of people showed up.”
Campbell said he was surprised to see such a wide variety of vehicles at the show.
“It was unique,” he said. “There were so many different cars. And there was a real cross-section of people too, all ages.”
Campbell reckons about 1,000 people showed up throughout the day to take a stroll around the lot and look at the cars. He said the event was free, but those showing their cars paid $10.
Campbell said they had donation boxes set up too and they had a few sponsors for the event.
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“The show exceeded our expectations,” he added. “Through the car entry fee, donations, and our sponsors, we raised just over $5,000, which was way more than we were hoping for.”
Hamed Almeshkhas also said the day went much better than expected.
“It was great to see so many people and cars out and to raise over $5,000.”
Almeshkhas had the idea to put on a car show in support of the food bank for a long time, but COVID concerns prevented him from following through on the idea.
Almeshkhas runs a food distribution company, Falcon & Co Essentials, and has been donating food to the Community Kitchen for awhile now. He’s had an idea to host a show after first seeing the lot behind Pacific Community Church.
“Ever since I first met Matt, and I looked at the property, I said, ‘I gotta have a car meet here.’ So everything got pushed off and I finally rolled up here a couple weeks ago and said, ‘Hey, were gonna have a car meet here in two weeks,’” he said with a laugh.
Campbell was delighted with the idea and when all was said and done 220 drivers brought their cars out to the Asphalt Angels Charity Car Show.
“We had everything from high-end Ferraris, to Lamborghinis, to classic cars, and even some bikes. It was a pretty nice turnout for something we planned in a week and a half.”
When Almeshkhas finally decided to put on the show, he reached out to his car group, RCS Autohaus. They pulled all the parts together to get the charity show rolling.
Although it was Almeshkhas’a idea, he stresses the members from RCS Autohaus did the heavy lifting.
“Those are the guys that made it happen,” he said. “All credit goes to them.”
The show was actually a “car meet,” a competition complete with trophies and prizes. Almeshkhas said RCS hosts car meets on the last Monday of every month at Grandview Corners.
“I really want to thank the RCMP for coming out and supporting us too,” added Almeshkhas. “Credit also goes to (Campbell) and the volunteers at the food bank.”
Almeshkhas said RCS Autohaus wants to host another charity car meet at the Community Kitchen toward the end of the summer, but this time, he said, they’ll spend a lot more time planning and promoting it. For now, he’s just happy to get the first one off the ground.
“It was a great Cloverdale community event,” added Campbell. “I saw a lot of people from the Cloverdale area and a lot of people really appreciated having an event after COVID, just getting out and doing something again.”
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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