Steve Baldo Niagara County's Ford Dealer

There are so many different things to do in summer in western New York, it's hard to fit them all in before the season ends.  Beautiful, sunny days are a rarity it seems so we all have to make the most of them.  What better way to spend the day than enjoying an afternoon on the waterfront with plenty of good food, good music and some great friends?

Such was the case on Saturday, July 9, 2011 at Krull Park in Olcott, N.Y.  I was honored to be a part of wnycruiser.com's 1^st Annual Pirate Fest Car Show.  The show was held in conjunction with the Pirate Fest Field Days held to raise money for the Olcott Volunteer Fire Department.  It was sponsored by various local businesses including Steve Baldo Ford, AmTon Auto and Truck, SSBC, Mac's Antique Auto Parts, Adesa Buffalo and many more.  The event was a great success and hundreds of people turned out to ride the rides, watch the parade, eat some great local food and check out some gorgeous rides.

The car show was open to all types of vehicles and almost 150 cars of all makes, models and years turned out for the festivities.  Everything was represented from antique Model T's, to classic muscle and cruisers, to highly modified tuners and so much more.  There were some gorgeous trucks and even a stretched sport bike!  There were several local car clubs that made a strong showing as well, including Club Nocturnal, Altered Illusion, the Motley Cruisers, and Elite Creations, the last of which won an award for club participation.  There were over 50 other awards given out in various categories.  Some of the highlights include:

These are just a few of the top award winners.  In my opinion, every car there deserved an award as it was evident the amount of time, hard work and money that went into each and every vehicle.  Whether it be the miles of wiring and fiberglass work that went into the tuner cars, the hours of chrome plating on the classic and antique muscle cars, the ingenuity that went into the rat rods, or the polishing, cleaning and restoration that went into the stock vehicles of all era's.Some of my favorites included a nice early 1990's GMC Typhoon, a wolf in sheep's clothing, a beautiful green early 1970's Camaro Z28, a beautiful black 1980's Monte Carlo SS, a green and white 1930's Ford Pick-up that drove in from Spencerport with two of the nicest people I've ever met, a stunning gold 1969 Olds Cutlass 442, and a sharp 1930's Chevy Business Coupe.  And who could miss Abe Lincoln (yes, that Abe Lincoln) in his 1990's Lincoln Mark Series promoting his Pennies from Heaven campaign and taking pictures with the kids!

Special thanks go out to Ray Catanesi and Joe Sim and all the wnycruisers.com community for organizing, promoting and running the show.  This year proved to be a smashing success and we look forward to it growing in the coming years.