-By Brian Cornell– Under sunny skies on Sunday, August 20 THE LIFT GARAGE, MN Triumphs Club, and InterMarque came together to host a free community car show in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis. The goals were to help THE LIFT GARAGE celebrate their 10 year anniversary, raise awareness of THE LIFT GARAGE mission, and boost their impact by raising some funds. We also created a space for a unique group of folks to share a wide variety of cars!
Around 45 cars made it to the event and represented seven decades of automotive history and style. From swooping sports cars and boxy sedans to a 1978 Dodge Monaco station wagon that could have probably pulled all of them behind it. There was a 1934 Chevrolet Master Sports Coupe (still sporting a vintage house-paint finish), a 1956 Desoto, 1961 Morris Mini, 1972 AMC Gremlin, 1986 Citroën 2CV, 1995 Porsche 928GTS, and a 2001 Jaguar XKR to round out the decades.
InterMarque was well-represented with cars from almost all of the traditional import regions. The Triumph club gets the checkered flag for marque attendance by rallying around 14 member cars. Alfa Romeo came in at 5 followed by a smattering of Fiats and Citroëns, a Volvo, Jaguar, Porsche, Morris, VW, Metropolitan, and Mercedes.
The Alllina Health Clinic let us use the lot which is located right by THE LIFT GARAGE facility. Tours were offered at the garage and free ice cream treats were donated by BIG BELL ICE CREAM from just down the street. Raising Canes also donated a portion of their sales during the show (and quick access to restrooms!). It was a great space and event.
All in all close to $1500 was raised in the effort! Funds will be used to support car repairs for anyone who is at or below 150% of Federal Poverty Guidelines. The Lift Garage charges $15/hr for labor and parts are sold at cost. They are even able to offer payment plans to help lighten the load for those on tight monthly budgets. It’s powerful work that makes a real difference in the lives of those they serve. You can learn more about Cathy’s inspiring story on why she founded THE LIFT GARAGE here.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this event possible! Brandon Baker and his wife Libby Nickel from the MN Triumph Club saw the opportunity and got the gears turning early this summer with Cathy and THE LIFT GARAGE team making sure the many add’l details were attended to. InterMarque provided poster design, event/signage support, and helped get the word out.
If you didn’t make it to the show and would like to support THE LIFT GARAGE donations are always accepted. CLICK HERE TO DONATE. (TIP: There is an InterMarque selection under “Where did you hear about us.”) Better yet… join them at their upcoming fundraiser at INDEED BREWING on Wednesday, September 27 from 5-10pm. There will be car related trivia and tickets are limited. LEARN MORE HERE.