The Rittenhouse Village at Portage 4th Annual Vintage Car Show and Competition went off without a hitch on Thursday evening. Rittenhouse Village hosted the event along with the Portage Chamber of Commerce. Motorheads of all kinds gathered together to share their passion for cars and show off their incredible vintage vehicles.
Rittenhouse provided hotdogs, pop, and chips to raise money for their senior community while the Portage Chamber of Commerce hosted a raffle with prizes and trophies. Both the residents and visitors enjoyed the food, fun, and atmosphere. Joe Zirconia, well-known and much anticipated, played songs while cracking jokes for everyone's enjoyment. This is the 4th year these organizations worked together to bring joy to the Rittenhouse residents.
"Cars are my passion," said attendee Mike Kowalski. "I've always wanted to own a vintage car."
The local SWAT team and canine unit took part in the event and brought one of their large vehicles to display. During the evening they put on a demonstration to help the community better understand their role.
"We decided to get the community involved," said Nancy Simpson, Executive Director of the Portage Chamber of Commerce. "We wanted to help the residents have fun on their grounds; they can come right downstairs and have something to do on their property."
The cars weren’t brought in just to look pretty; the owners were in it to win it. Three trophies were up for grabs: The People's choice, the Residents choice, and the Chambers choice. The award presenters were the Vintagious Gals, a group of car show promoters who dress to impress with their vintage 50s outfits.
Lisa Blackmore recently joined the Vintagious Gals and has been a mechanic her entire life. Blackmore's father introduced her to cars at a young age, and she couldn't get enough. Her life has been dedicated to cars and being a proud female mechanic. Blackmore's '61 Ford F100 pick up truck was once in a junkyard, but now it's humming like an angel.
"I decided that I wanted to bring it back to life because of the fact that a girl built it,” Blackmore said “I wanted to keep it on the road being a female mechanic myself."
Bob Jones, a 73-year-old participant, has a long history of loving cars. Each of his cars are custom made with real tuck and roll car interior. Of the three cars he’s entered into shows, each has won the Good Guys Pick Award.
"It's been excited over the years building the cars, and I love doing it,” Jones said. “We support shows that do something for the community, so we try to come out and give back to the community."
For more information about Rittenhouse Village at Portage, go to www.rittenhousevillages.com. For more information about the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce, go to www.portageinchamber.com.