Members from three different car clubs joined in unison at Dunkirk’s DPW meeting to help the Lowriginal Car Club obtain permission for their show to be held at Point Gratiot. From left are Joel Burgos of the DK Modified Car Club, Juan Rivera of Unique Car Club, Joshua Sorrento, Joe Colon and Ryan Sanderson all of Lowriginal Car Club. OBSERVER Photo by Jo Ward

It appears the Dunkirk Common Council is steering toward allowing the Lowriginal Car Club to move forward with their show down at Point Gratiot in July.

Members of three different car clubs, including the Lowriginal, Unique Car Club and DK Modified Car Club, joined forces to ask the city of Dunkirk at a Department of Public Works meeting this month to allow Lowriginal to host their club’s show at Point Gratiot.

“It’s a family event. We want to rent the park, but that doesn’t mean that we want to close it up; it’s open doors to everybody,” Lowriginal member Joe Colon stated.

“This is our fifth year and all our proceeds go to either cancer research or a family who is battling cancer,” member Ryan Sanderson added.

The last Lowriginal car show in 2019 brought in 562 show cars with more than 1,000 people in attendance. For them, more space is needed and all money generated comes from donations at the event.

First Ward Councilman Don Williams Jr. brought up the concerns of the council regarding noise complaints from loud music and peeling out cars.

“For us that’s a big no-no,” Colon said. “What people do when they leave is up to them, but at our event, no peeling out, revving engines and loud music is allowed.”

The idea of the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds was floated, but Lowriginal explained they don’t want to block traffic on a main road.

“There’s playgrounds for the kids, the beach. Car shows can get mundane and those amenities allow people to step away for a moment,” Sanderson added.

“It’s unfortunate that there’s a couple of groups that put a bad taste in the council’s mouth that we had to make this decision,” Councilman-at-large Paul VanDenVouver said. “But after some investigating and doing some homework my decision is that based on what I’m hearing today from you guys and seeming that it’s family orientated, it’s up to you guys, it’s going to be a trial-by-error. Also if you want something, come to the council ahead of time. If this conversation was done earlier I don’t think that this would have been a problem. If you respect that park, then I don’t have a problem seeing it there every year.”