It’s one thing to like your car, but Saturday, people who obviously care about their vehicles way more than the average will crowd Main Avenue downtown to show them off and share that love.
About 300 cars are expected for the annual Durango Motor Expo, said Elaine Nobriga, one of the dozen or so volunteers with the Durango Old Car Club that organizes the Father’s Day weekend event.
The expo will close off Main Avenue from Seventh to 11th streets and the side streets up to the alleys, from 10 a.m. to about 4 p.m. Saturday.
Registrations already have come from Oklahoma and Arizona, and the expo often attracts people from as far away as California, Nobriga said. It’s a social occasion for many, as well as a chance to display vehicles that have as much as $60,000 or more invested in them.
“These people love to talk to other people,” she said. “They love to answer questions. They love to talk about their stuff.”
A core group of 10 to 12 volunteers works nearly year-round to plan and run the event, Nobriga said. Some volunteers attend other shows in Yuma, Arizona, Moab, Utah, and Albuquerque, for example, to spread the word of Durango’s festival. The club also advertises the festival.
“I work with a great group of people,” Nobriga said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Nearly 120 trophies will be awarded to different classes of cars, she said. Last year, there were 276 entries.
Proceeds from the event go to Hospice of Mercy. The event raised $10,000 for the hospice in 2013.
Entry fees, sponsorship fees and a silent auction all help to raise money for the hospice and to pay for seed money for next year’s event, Nobriga said. The entry fee is $30 through Friday and $40 the day of the show.
johnp@durangoherald.com