Shoreline Classic Car Show at Meridian Park

1955 Chevrolet Bel Air with a 327 V8
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

By Diane Hettrick

Shoreline resident Martin Degrazia has been involved with car shows for many years.

As a Seattle resident, he volunteered from the beginning with the Greenwood Car Show. The Greenwood Car Show was started by Jerry Cline of Cline Customer Jewelry as a benefit for the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. Cline's business was located for many years in Shoreline, on 200th across from Aurora Village, and is now in Snohomish County, just over the line.

When Jerry left the Greenwood Chamber, the leaders outsourced the event to a private group which called itself the Greenwood Knights. The Knights included some founding members of the show, local business leaders, and a few car enthusiasts, including leader Brian Canfield. Degrazia was involved all this time.

1955 Buick Special
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

In 2004, Martin Degrazia moved home and business to Shoreline.

"I moved to Shoreline 6 years ago (not a big move by any means) and absolutely love it here. I take my daughters to Meridian Park and couldn't get it out of my head, what a great location this would be for a car show. What school couldn't use a little extra money in todays economy?"

The Meridian Park PTSA became a partner for the event when Degrazia was unable to open a checking account in the name of the car show. All proceeds are given to the school, to dispense as they see fit.

The sponsorship level has been kept at $200. This is low, says Degrazia. "I really wanted this to be a community event. I wanted to have big business along with small business and I am very grateful for all the show sponsors."

1939 Studebaker pick-up, in process
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

With the second show, in 2011, Degrazia was able to obtain the status of an an official Seafair Sanctioned Community Event, a status he maintained with the third show this year.

With all the years of experience Degrazia has running car shows, the event was polished and successful from the beginning. The inaugural 2009 show featured J.P. Patches, and Lance Lambert, both of whom made generous deals for their time, and the singing talents of The Fabulous Hammers, who donated their time. It made over $6,000 for the school.

1940 Chevrolet convertible
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

The 2010 show was a day full of rain, which caused many participants to cancel, dropping proceeds to $4,500.

2012 was brilliant sunshine and every slot available was filled, with almost 240 cars. Final figures are not in but Degrazia expects to make around $6,000 again. "Our car total was up," he said, "but so were our expenses."

He has nothing to apologize for. There are few schools in Shoreline where a parent volunteers to run a fund-raiser that brings in $4-6,000 for the school, let alone one that brings delight to so many people.