A few classic cars cruised around campus this weekend, mixing in with the typical blend of modern sport utility vehicles and sedans.
The fourth annual Cars on Campus charity event kicked off Friday with a mix of classic automobiles rolling down Grand River Avenue and culminated in a car show featuring more than 200 vehicles Sunday afternoon.
“There are literally hundreds of car shows this time of year in Michigan,” said Steve Purdy, the show’s event director who designed a poster with an image of MSU’s Sparty reflected on the hood of a Cadillac for the event.
“There’s art at all the car shows, but this one focuses on the aesthetics.”
On Sunday, hundreds of car fans made their way to Walter Adams Memorial Field to inspect the variety of cars in the Concours d’Elegance - an invitational car show featuring vehicles that had to be personally approved by the Cars on Campus volunteer staff. Some of the most prominent autos were made by Cadillac - which is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2002 - and Porsche.
Car fans were also treated to a selection of fine art dedicated to autos and live musical entertainment.
Those behind the event hope to continue the steady growth in the number of cars and the number of visitors it has seen in the past few years.
But the event’s main reward is in the amount of money it raises for MSU Safe Place, which provides shelter to emotionally or physically abused MSU students, faculty, staff or their partners, and for Highfields Inc., which provides home-based family counseling and out-of-home care and education options.
“I really enjoy doing something that’s good,” said Gary Witzenburg, who originally came up with the idea and who continues to be a driving force behind the event. “The first year that we did this for charity, we raised $4,000, so it was hard to keep up the support. The next year, we raised $40,000.”
Witzenburg attributes most of the success to the sponsors and support team behind Cars on Campus. While Witzenburg hopes there will soon be at least one full-time employee working year-round to organize the event, for now it relies on volunteers.
One of those volunteers is East Lansing resident Anita Baron, who took tickets at Saturday’s auction at Wharton Center and helped register incoming cars Sunday. Baron has been involved for the past two years.
“I feel that it’s a piece of Americana that Gary has worked so hard to bring to East Lansing,” Baron said. “There are Concours all over, but it’s nice to bring one here.”
