The fifth annual FOP Pre-Scoop Cruise-In and Car Show will be like no other.
For one, it will be a tribute to Tom Gray, who was a member of the Seymour Area Cruisers car club that helped with parking and judging at the show. He died Dec. 30, 2019.
Secondly, the show will go on Aug. 21 despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
C.J. Foster, president of the event’s sponsor, Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108, said he read Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s mandate about conducting events and talked to Paul Ramsey with the Jackson County Health Department.
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"We got approval through the health department, we came up with a safety plan to hold it and they signed off on it," Foster said. "For everybody’s benefit there at the show, it’s an outdoor event, people can kind of move around and they are not stagnant in one place."
He said signage will be placed asking people to practice social distancing, stay in their groups, wear a face mask if they get closer than 6 feet from someone, not gather in large groups and not enter the event area if they feel sick or have any of the virus symptoms. There also will be hand sanitizer available.
"We’ll do our due diligence with the signage and stuff and just ask people not to gather in large groups, congregate or whatever," Foster said.
He also said they will try to spread the vehicles out as much as possible. Last year, a record 243 vehicles were a part of the show, which takes place in the Robertson Mill and Walnut Street parking lots in downtown Seymour and extends onto the surrounding streets and into the grassy area along West Tipton Street.
Parking starts at 3 p.m., and the show runs from 6 to 9 p.m.
The cost to enter a vehicle is $15. Each entrant will receive a goody bag, a chance to play a game and win a door prize valued between $10 and $125 and a bottle of Lucas Oil Slick Mist Speed Wax valued at nearly $10.
Admission to the car show is free, but attendees can try their luck at a 50/50 raffle and raffles for a set of tires and a handgun. Tickets will be one for $1 and six for $5.
Plus, there will be a silent auction, live music by local band Six Ways to Sunday, food from Junkyard BBQ and ice cream floats. In past years, the FOP has sold the floats during Scoop the Loop the next night, but that has been canceled this year, so Foster said those will be sold at the car show.
Foster decided to add Tom Gray Memorial to the name of this year’s show because Gray and the car club approached the FOP five years ago about organizing a car show the night before Scoop the Loop.
"They’ve been a tremendous help," Foster said of the car club members.
Proceeds from the car show benefit the FOP’s Cops and Kids program, which pairs local law enforcement officers with less-fortunate kids in Jackson County for a shopping experience in early December at Walmart Supercenter in Seymour.
In 2019, the FOP raised $22,000 through the car show, floats, an angel tree, donations and grants, which allowed for 127 kids and 58 families to be served.
"The car show is the big moneymaker," Foster said. "We rely on the people to take chances on the raffles and keep the (entry) price low. They know where basically every penny of that money is going to go."
Foster said he enjoys the car show each year.
"I like to see everybody come out and have a good time," he said. "Then obviously, the end result is seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces at the end of the year. That’s the No. 1 thing."
Since other events have been canceled this year because of the pandemic, Foster hopes the car show gives people something safe to do.
"We’re going to strive to make it as safe of an event as possible and comfortable for everybody," he said.
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What: Fifth annual FOP Pre-Scoop Cruise-In and Car Show Tom Gray Memorial
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 21; parking starts at 3 p.m.
Where: Robertson Mill and Walnut Street parking lots in downtown Seymour
Cost: $15 to enter a vehicle; admission to the event is free; mail registration to FOP Car Show, Attn: C.J. Foster, 205 N. Ewing St., Seymour, IN 47274; make checks payable to FOP Lodge 108
Features: 50/50 raffle, raffles for a set of tires and a handgun, silent auction, live music by local band Six Ways to Sunday, food from Junkyard BBQ and ice cream floats from the Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108
Proceeds: FOP Cops and Kids program
Information: facebook.com/events/1541121062706977 or facebook.com/foplodge108
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