BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal file photo Some of the contestants at the annual Run What Cha Brung car event at Fuji Park brought more than their cars last year.
It means immortalization. It's the chance for the machine, cleaned and cared for, to have a place of honor. To become more than just an automobile, but art.
The more than 300 competitors in the Run What Cha Brung Car Show, taking place this weekend at Fuji Park, have come in search of the People's Choice Award and with it, the coveted spot on the event's T-shirt.
Bill Hildenbrand, of Galt, Calif., has 11 vehicles, five ready to show and six more in the process of being restored. His current project is a 1938 Ford Coupe.
"I've been doing it since I was a kid. My grandpa and uncle were always into cars and I guess it just never left my body," Hildenbrand said. "I'm a 55-year-old that's really still an 18-year-old."
Hildenbrand will be returning with the 1955 Ford to the 2006 show.
The show, in its 22nd year, has only one requirement for entry. If it's got a motor, it can be entered. There are 62 categories, with first- and second-place honors being awarded in each.
"We try to make our own awards and we tend to be secretive about what they look like," said Lorretta Marcin, Karson Kruzers vice president. "Last year, it was flames painted in the color of the People's Choice winner."
The Karson Kruzers Car Club is overseeing the event.
On the shirt this year is the 1955 Ford pickup owned by Hildenbrand.
Hildenbrand has been coming to the show since 1993 and won the title once before.
Registration begins at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by a street dance from 7-11 p.m. in Fuji Park. The event opens at 7 a.m. Saturday with judging 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
In addition to the cars, there will be games for children and adults and a barbecue beginning at 3:30 p.m.
"We try to feed 1,000 people in an hour so they can get down to the parade. We are the cooks, the cleaners and the dishwashers. We do it all," Marcin said.
The barbecue is cooked on grills resembling a 1957 Chevy and a race car.
The parade begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Carson Mall parking lot, runs north on Carson Street, turns around at the Harley-Davidson dealership and returns to the Carson Nugget parking lot.
Sunday morning brings a poker run 8:30-11 a.m., followed by the awards ceremony at noon.
"Vehicles are like art," Marcin said. "Look at one and see all its neat points, and then look at another and you might say 'that's weird.'"
In addition to the category and People's Choice awards, the club also honors the lowest car with its In the Weeds Award and allows representatives from the Carson City Sheriff's Department to make the Pigs Pick selection.
Part of the proceeds go to the Safe Grad Night program at Carson High School.
"That's young kids driving and trying to keep them safe, so we are happy to support it," Marcin said.
• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.
If you go
What: Run What Cha Brung Car Show
When: Registration begins 6 p.m. Friday; judging 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday; parade begins 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Carson Mall parking lot
Where: Fuji Park.
Call: 883-0927 or 883-1634