On Sunday, October 13, the Valley Collector Car Club (VCCC) and the Litchfield Hills Historical Automobile Club (LHHAC) will collaborate with the Connecticut Junior Republic (CJR) in conducting the first annual Cars for Kids Automobile Show. This event will be held on the Junior Republic’s Litchfield Campus on Route 63, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with gates opening at 8:00 AM for exhibitors. The rain date for the event is Sunday, October 20. Exhibitor bags will be provided for the first 200 automobile owners. Automobile entries are $10 per car.
Spectators are welcome and admission is $3 per person or $5 per car. Overflow parking will be located at the Goshen Fairgrounds and a free shuttle service will be provided to the show.
The event will be suitable for the entire family, and additional activities will include face painting, pumpkin painting and farm tours. A luncheon consisting of a choice of a pulled pork or barbequed chicken breast sandwich plate will be prepared and served by students in CJR’s D’Assern Dining Room. A Food Court will offer show participants a variety of foods to “eat on the go,” including hot dogs, kielbasa, popcorn, cotton candy, cookies and ice cream sandwiches. Student tours of the CJR Campus and Farm will also be featured as a part of the event.
The Connecticut Community Foundation is a LeMans Sponsor for the event and committed the first major sponsorship to help CJR launch this endeavor. Crystal Rock was among the first to support the event with a special contribution as well and FM 97.3 WZBG is the Media Sponsor.
Both the Litchfield Hills Historical Automobile Club and the Valley Collector Car Club are non-profit groups dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of classic automobiles and to supporting charities in the community.
According to CJR Executive Director Daniel Rezende, the car show is eagerly anticipated by students from several of CJR’s program locations. “Our boys and girls from Torrington and Waterbury will be helping out along with students from our Litchfield residential programs and the Cable Academic and Vocational Education Center, and are looking forward to being a part of this event,” he noted.
Founded in 1904, the Connecticut Junior Republic (CJR) provides care, treatment, education and family support for at-risk, special needs and troubled young people so they can become productive and fulfilled members of their homes, schools and communities. Today, the organization’s combined programs serve more than 1,500 boys and girls annually in 11 locations throughout Connecticut.
The Junior Republic conducts residential programs for court-referred young men on its Litchfield campus. Special, vocational and alternative education programs are provided for boys from communities throughout Connecticut at CJR’s Cable Academic and Vocational Education Center, which is located on its Litchfield campus. Transition and related services are also provided.
CJR provides additional residential services for boys at its group homes in East Hartford and Winchester and short-term, residential crisis intervention for girls at its Center for Assessment, Respite and Enrichment (CARE) in Waterbury. A broad spectrum of prevention, early intervention, family support, and intensive home-based services, and aftercare, are provided for boys and girls through CJR’s offices in Danbury, East Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, Torrington and Waterbury (two sites).
A private charitable organization, the Connecticut Junior Republic is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). CJR is supported by gifts from individuals, businesses, foundations and organizations, and through service contracts funded by the Connecticut Judicial Branch, Court Support Services Division (CSSD), the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS), and by Connecticut’s public schools. For further information, please contact Hedy Barton, Director of Development and Public Relations (860) 567-9423, extension 252; or by email: hbarton@cjryouth.org.