If there was any question about how passionate Turlockers are about cars, this past weekend’s Cars and Coffee event answered it, as vehicles were lined up all along First Street on Saturday morning. Seeing the high turnout and excitement leading up to it, one fraternity from Stanislaus State was inspired to try doing it again, this time with a certain cause in mind.

On April 22, the Kappa Sigma fraternity will be hosting the Military Heroes Car Show, which will showcase cars from years 1985 and older and will be raising funds for the Military Heroes Campaign.

The Military Heroes Campaign was launched in 2007 and is one of the main pillars of philanthropy for the nationwide Kappa Sigma fraternity. Since then, more than $1.67 million has been raised to support its various beneficiaries and veterans charities, which include SEAL Legacy Foundation, Veterans Moving Forward, Homes for Our Troops, Veteran Success Resource Group, Warriors and Quiet Waters Foundation, the Catch a Lift Fund and True Patriot Love.

Karlos Marquez is one of the Stan State students behind the show. He is now a fraternity alumnus, having served as Kappa Sigma’s special events coordinator.

“Only about three of us in the fraternity are really into cars, but it’s definitely spreading. Cars are what’s hot right now, and we saw a bunch of veterans’ car clubs, so we felt that this was a perfect event to put on to try to raise money. Just this event alone (Cars and Coffee) brings the community together,” Marquez said.

Though Marquez is a fraternity alumnus, he explained that he volunteered to continue his work as special events coordinator so that he can see the vision of a car show come to life.

“We’ve thought about it for some time now, and now, as an alumni, I see there are a lot of freshmen and sophomores [in the fraternity], so I wanted to see this through and I want to guide them too, so that when I’m gone, they can carry this on,” he explained.

One way Marquez helped guide his brothers in making the event a reality was reaching out to the City of Turlock, which awarded the fraternity a $3,000 grant to help them go through with the idea while also giving permission to use First Street and host vendors and other activities.

“Working on this project has been a great opportunity to connect with the community and give back to those who have given so much for us,” said fraternity brother and event organizer Augustin Borba.

According to fellow brother Isaian Martinez, the event will cater to those of all ages, with children’s activities and a wide variety of food being sold and music being played throughout the day. To show a car, there is a $25 fee. Vendors offering food or other goods will be able to participate with 10-foot by 10-foot spots available for $200 and 10-foot by 20-foot spots available for $400, though all who wish to participate must have a business license. Every penny from vehicle or vendor registrations will be donated by Kappa Sigma to the Military Heroes Campaign.

Martinez is one of the three fraternity brothers who has a strong passion for classic cars, and that passion and knowledge was used to roll out a unique advertising campaign for the event, as he designed nearly every aspect of the flyer.

Martinez explained that the red Chevy Bel-Air is front and center of the flyer and was chosen as it can represent the older generation of car enthusiasts. The green Chevy Mustang on the left was chosen as it represents a turning point of performance cars in the United States and was popular amongst military communities. As for the white Chevy Impala on the right, it was chosen as it is a car popular amongst Latino and African American culture.

“People may not realize it, but the car community here is very strong and diverse, so we just wanted something to represent that,” Martinez said. “Car shows are so unique because it doesn’t matter your background or age, when there is a car show, the community comes together.”

It is the same message that Sergio Gutierrez shared earlier this month when expressing his desire to host Cars and Coffee once a month in front of his restaurant, Taqueria La Primera, and Erika Neal’s coffee shop, Café Rome.

“This is all rooted in the belief that every veteran and their families deserve a stable group of supporters,” Marquez said. “We’re incredibly proud...”

The Military Heroes Car Show will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 22 along First Street. To register to show a car or host a vendor spot, go to Eventbrite.com and search “1st Annual Military Heroes Car Show.” Registration papers can also be found inside Taqueria La Primera and Café Rome at 144 S. First St. For more information, the public is encouraged to contact Marquez at (209) 701- 9380 or at jmarquez13@csustan.edu.