Car show at Harden Middle School benefits student activities.

To own a cool vehicle, it takes plenty of hard work and patience. For many young people who dream of having their own special car, all they might need is a little inspiration.

They’ll have the chance to learn about what it takes from the owners of cool cars themselves on Sunday, Oct. 25 from 10am to 4pm.

For the first time, Harden Middle School in Salinas hosts a car show and rummage sale, with the goal of not only raising funds for school activities, but teaching kids the importance of perseverance to meet their dreams.

Surrounding the dozens of vehicles on display—with a little bit of everything, from customs, to domestics and more—will be vendors selling food and wares. By popular demand from the students, there will be various booths set up to buy and sell trading cards—think Pokemon and other popular decks. There will also be student performances, Aztec dancers, a costume contest and other entertainment throughout the day.

Awards will be provided by Level Up Visions, while Salinas Tattoo Company is hosting a raffle for a $500 value tattoo, with all proceeds going to Harden Middle School. Chris Cain Law is sponsoring the event.

Ricardo Maravilla, community school coordinator at Harden Middle School, says it was important to host the event on a Sunday, given that many farmworking families in Salinas work Monday through Saturday.

“We want to have a good, family-friendly event that’s open to the community to have a good time,” he says.

Salinas resident Michael Tsuchiura, who organizes car shows and runs his own Japanese-inspired apparel business, Kaiju Company, says many people associate owning a nice car with how successful one is in life.

But Tsuchiura is hoping that by chatting with the owners of the vehicles on display at the school, kids will see that these owners come from all walks of life, and learn how they achieved their goals.

“This type of show is really going to open the doors to start networking when they’re young to open their hearts and minds to the possibilities that are available to them,” he says.

The goal is to continue offering and growing these types of events at the school. To do so, sponsors are needed. For information, contact Maravilla at (831) 288-1427 or ricardo.maravilla@salinasuhsd.org.