It was a nearly picture-perfect day, with sunny skies and temperatures that peaked just over the 90-degree mark, along with a light breeze.
And there were cars. Hundreds of them.
Classic car enthusiasts rolled in to Escalon’s Main Street Park for the annual Escalon Lions Club Autumn Car Cruise on Saturday, Sept. 14. They didn’t go away disappointed.
“It’s just such a fun show,” cruise chairman and longtime Lions Club member Rien Doornenbal explained. “We estimate it was close to 300 cars … we had probably 100 show up the day of the event.”
The others were pre-registered, but they always allow room for more, and this year, they kept coming in, said Doornenbal.
He said though the entry fee might be a little higher than shows in other areas, he pointed out that all the proceeds go back into the community. This effort by the Lions Club, specifically, benefits scholarships for graduating Escalon students.
“Every penny we make goes back into scholarships for the high school,” Doornenbal said.
With a lot of the car show participants knowing that, he said many often make additional donations to benefit students.
As of last year, the Lions Club had donated over $460,000 in scholarship funds based on the Car Cruise proceeds, said Doornenbal.
He added that there are also some unique parts of the show that draw in the participants, including a chance to win cash prizes and be in the running for one of a number of specialty awards.
One of the judges this year was Ryan Rissetto, representing local business Caliber Collision.
“It’ really hard because you’re always trying to pick cars that look really nice and you can tell they (owners) took a lot of money and time to get the cars to the way they are. But it is a very hard choice because there’s a lot of nice cars out here today,” Rissetto said. “I just like the local small-town kind of car show, there’s a lot of people we know, a lot of people that are our friends, so it’s just a nice hometown car show.”
Dominic Rissetto, an EHS freshman, was enjoying the car show alongside his dad and also helping his grandfather – Lions Club member Ed Bracco – with some tasks during the day.
Returning participant Barney Valk of Escalon had his 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS entered in the show.
“I just like coming to this car show because it’s good for the community and I get to see all my friends; we’re in a car club called The Bandits and we come back every year to support the Escalon Lions Club,” Valk said.
Club members in The Bandits are from areas including Atwater, Modesto, Escalon and more.
Valk purchased the Chevelle about five years ago and said he got it in pretty good condition, not having to do too much work on it.
“I fixed it up a little but it’s all original,” he said, adding that events like the cruise are a great way to spend the day. “They’re fun, something to do when you get a little older, you get to go out and spend some time with your friends.”
Doornenbal said another feature that is a bonus for the Lions Club is that the nearby Escalon American Legion Post puts on a breakfast on Saturday morning.
“That works out really well for both of us,” Doornenbal noted. “People bring a car early, then go there for breakfast, it really adds to the experience.”
This year was the 28th cruise put on by the Lions Club and there was live music, including Ron Freitas as Elvis Presley, in addition to a DJ. Raffle drawings were hosted throughout the day and the Lions Club put on a lunch, with several Escalon students joining in to help serve.
Miss Escalon and members of her court were also in attendance to meet and greet participants and vote on their favorite cars.
Doornenbal said the Best of Show honor and trophy went to a 1963 Corvette; that car will be featured on the poster for the 2025 Autumn Cruise.
