Photo gallery for Show and Shine evolving into community event

By GARY BROWER
myZeeland staff

Last year it was the General Motors Futurliner and a replication of the Parade of Progress.
This year it is a Friday night car cruise and a sock hop in the streets of downtown Zeeland.
The organizers of the annual Show and Shine car show continue to add new twists to what has been, for 14 years, a popular event in town.
“Basically, the format was good from the beginning and we have just grown the show every year,” said Zeeland Chamber of Commerce President Ann Query, a member of a loose-knit group of car buffs that puts on the show.
“People have always embraced the opportunity to be in downtown Zeeland because it’s paved and there has always been other activities.”
The 15th annual Show and Shine car show is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 12, but many of the accompanying activities take place Friday evening.
New this year is a car cruise, which begins at Zeeland East High School and winds it way through and around town, allowing car owners a chance to show off their cars to an expanded crowd.
“It should be a great chance to see the cool cars go by,” Query said. “We are hoping that we get some good participation in that.”
The Zeeland Rotary Club chicken barbecue, typically a Saturday afternoon event, has been moved to Friday evening as well. It begins at 5:30 p.m. at VandeLuyster Square at the corner of Church Street and Central Avenue.
Also on Friday night, WHTC disc jockey Ed VerSchure will be in Zeeland spinning tunes for a 1950s style sock hop. The dance, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., will also include a dance contest and a costume contest.
In conjunction with the car show, the downtown Zeeland merchants will be hosting their annual sidewalk sales from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
At 3 p.m. Friday afternoon a skateboard and freestyle bicycle team from Brighton Nazarene Church will be staging an exhibition in the parking lot of First Christian Reformed Church.
Query said the sidewalks sales and the car show seemed to a natural fit and the other events evolved over time.
“We decided that we would do something to kind of make it more of a summerfest and we wanted to enhance the sidewalk sales and bring in people that would not be here otherwise,” she said. “It creates a pretty festive atmosphere.”
“It’s been good for the merchants downtown and it’s been good for the car people,” added Chuck Drnek, one of the event’s organizers. “People just come downtown to see what’s going on. Some are real hardcore car buffs that are here for the cars and some people come down just out of curiosity.”
Last year, due to heavy rain Saturday morning, only about 100 cars registered for the Show and Shine show, but two years ago was the event’s biggest turnout, when more than 300 cars were on display.
Weather permitting, Drnek is expecting a similar, if not better, turnout this year.
“They’ll be parked (on Main Avenue) from State and Main down to the Pizza Hut, with room for overflow,” he said. “And they are packed in about as tight as you can get them.”
Registration begins at 8 a.m. Saturday.
While many shows restrict what cars can be displayed based on how old the car is, or what style it is, Drnek said there is only one requirement a vehicle must meet to be in Show and Shine.
“We don’t have anything (requirements) like that,” said Drnek, who drives a 1933 Ford three-window coupe street rod. “We look for special interest vehicles. Anything that is a little unique.”
Drnek said the low-key nature of the show, combined with its downtown setting make it a popular show among car owners. There is only a $5 registration charge, with the proceeds going to the Zeeland Action Coalition.
“We get guys from the Grand Rapids area and from as far as Kalamazoo and Battle Creek and up north to Muskegon and Whitehall,” he said. “A lot of times, shows are in a parking lot and kind of off in the corner some place. This is right downtown and it’s just a real community activity.”