Gathering of ‘orphan vehicles’ returns Aug. 17

VILLAGE OF MINOA – Minoa’s Lewis Park will once again be the site of the local gathering of orphan vehicles this week. The annual event, now in its 10th year, is taking place this Saturday, Aug. 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The car show recognizes vehicles produced by now-defunct manufacturing divisions, thereby giving those discontinued marques their due and reminding people they haven’t disappeared entirely. Vehicles that fit the definition of “orphan car” can include Pontiacs, Plymouths, Mercury-brand vehicles, or ones built by the General Motors subsidiary Saturn, and since they’re not made anymore, a good number of car models that have appeared in the yearly show are rarely seen on the road and seldom heard-of by those in the wider public outside of motor enthusiasts in the know.
“It’s about giving them their day and letting an orphan car be the best show car on the field,” said Victor Oliver, who organizes the show with his wife, Connie, or, as he calls her, “the brains of the operation.”
The charitable event will also feature a 50/50 raffle, door prizes and food trucks. The proceeds are given a three-way split, and they will benefit Minoa’s volunteer fire department; Project Healing Waters, which focuses on physically and emotionally rehabilitating active military service personnel and veterans in need with the sport of fly fishing; and the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which provides mortgage-free homes to injured military veterans, homeless service members, and Gold Star families and those of fallen first responders.
This year’s vehicle gathering at the park on South Main Street in Minoa will put a specific spotlight on Packards and Studebakers as the “special-interest” showcase, but any vehicles that qualify as orphans are welcomed, as are “regular cars” like Mustangs and Camaros during the opening cruise.
Hoping for it to be the biggest orphan show yet with it being the 10th anniversary, Victor Oliver expects a turnout in excess of 200 cars in total, many of which will be “really spectacular” and in some cases “very expensive” sets of wheels, he said.
The show was first held on Victor and Connie Oliver’s sizable front yard in East Syracuse, but as the event grew, it relocated first to Maxwell Park and then to Lewis Park, where it’s been ever since. Victor said he thanks the Minoa community for accepting the show and taking it in, adding that the municipal side has been “phenomenal to work with.”
There will be multiple awards given out at this Saturday’s show, and vehicles have to be at least 25 years old, parked by about 11 that morning, and a true-to-form orphan car to be judged, though certain exceptions are made for specialty cars that had very limited runs on the assembly line.