LONGMEADOW -- If you love cars, then mark your calendar for July 28 from 9 a.m. to noon. That’s when Cars of Longmeadow will hold its second annual car show. This year the event will be at The Longmeadow Shops, 690 Bliss Road.
A big success last year, Cars of Longmeadow raised $8,000 for Lupus research in 2018, and this year’s show will continue in that tradition, with all money raised going to the Lupus Research Alliance.
Two high school students, Wesley Breed, 16, and Max Loyuk, 18, are responsible for making Cars of Longmeadow a reality.
“I’ve loved cars since I was a kid,” Breed said, “and have been going to car shows with my dad for years. There really isn’t a car show held in this area, so we decided to create one and combine it with a fundraiser.”
They chose the Lupus Research Alliance because Breed’s younger sister suffers from the disease. The Alliance is the world’s largest private funder of lupus research, with the goal of improving treatment while advancing research toward a cure.
“Lupus is a severe autoimmune disease that can attack various organs of the body,” Breed explained. “In my sister’s case, it has attacked her kidneys. There is treatment for it, but no cure. The money raised will go toward the search for a cure. By combining my passion for cars with a fundraiser to help my sister, Cars of Longmeadow was born.”
There will be four categories of cars on display. Supercars, which Breed defined as very expensive, very fast, and usually foreign, including the likes of Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Bugatti’s and the BMW I8 Roadster.
“We had a ton of supercars last year,” Breed said. “Supercars are special and people really enjoy seeing them.”
Other categories include sports cars, muscle cars and rare classics.
Loyuk said he and Breed connected through their love of cars. “We’ve done a lot of car photography, mostly in Eastern Massachusetts and Southern Connecticut."
A senior, Loyuk is headed to UMass Amherst in the fall. “I’ve been a car lover since I was a kid and have done car photography since middle school. I’d like to pursue photography going forward.”
He added, “I go to a lot of car shows, so I thought it would be a cool idea to do one locally.”
Though still a sophomore, Breed already knows he wants to do something with cars. He’s done a lot of car photography and would love to pursue that along with journalism. “Cars of Longmeadow is a first step,” he said.
According to Melissa Pevay, marketing manager for The Longmeadow Shops, the shopping center is hosting the event and also providing promotional and logistical support.
Mercedes-Benz of Springfield is a show sponsor. Anyone else wishing to become a sponsor, which involves a donation of $300, should email Breed at info@carsoflongmeadow.org.
A fee of $25 is required to show a car at the event. To register and pay the fee, visit www.carsoflongmeadow.org.