Come for the tasty food, stay for the hot cars. Two annual events are teaming up for a Grandview Heights-focused weekend Sept. 14-15.
The Taste of Grandview is moving from its traditional October date to Sept. 14, the day before the third annual Youth Advocate Services All Class Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show.
“We cross-promoted these events so that they’re both successful,” says Michelle Wilson, executive director of the Grandview Area Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the Taste of Grandview.
The Taste is scheduled from 4-10:30 p.m. Saturday next to the Grandview Center, 1515 Goodale Blvd., with the car show from 10 a.m.-4 Sunday at the Grandview Yard, 900 Goodale Blvd. To encourage overnight visitors, the Hyatt Place at the Grandview Yard is offering discount packages for Saturday and Sunday night.
“We wanted to make it a weekend just so people can see what a great place Grandview is,” says Tracey Izzard, executive director of YAS.
The Taste has been held on the first Sunday of October for the past seven years, and people tended to leave early due to cold and rainy weather, Wilson says.
And since the event was on a Sunday, the beer garden, introduced a couple years ago, wasn’t as big a hit as organizers had hoped, Wilson says. The new date will hopefully provide better weather, and the day change and longer daylight hours may boost the beer business.
“We want to keep (patrons) around a little longer,” she says.
About 20 Tri-Village-area food vendors and three beer vendors will be at the event, which will also include live entertainment. At 7 p.m., The Ohio State University-University of California football game will be broadcast on a large screen.
The car show will benefit Youth Advocate Services, the oldest Ohio therapeutic foster care program. The 35-year-old organization provides mental and behavioral services, respite and emergency care, and programs that are home-and-school-based to keep children with their families.
“We’re constantly looking to expand and grow our services,” Izzard says. “We want to raise awareness about our foster care and adoption programs and reduce family stigma.”
The YAS car show has raised about $10,000 toward additional programming and activities each of the past two years.
Last year, the car show featured old and new cars, including a three-wheel 1959 BMW Isetta and a 1939 Chevy, along with the oldest car, a 1929 Ford Model A. The show will also include a motorcycle auction.
“We had a little bit of everything,” Izzard says. “That’s what made it so unique and interesting.”
Celebrity judges Dan “Boots” Longenette from Auto Smarts Radio and former QFM96 radio show co-host Mark “Daddy Wags” Wagner will select winners of 53 awards.
The car show has had a positive impact on the community, Izzard says. During the car show’s first year, at least one person became interested in becoming a foster parent.
“We would love for that to happen every year,” she says.
Brandon Klein is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
