As the sun started kissing the shining paint jobs, people started celebrating Mother’s Day in the best way possible, a car show! The I <3 Mom Car Show is an annual charity show presented by Grand Touring Events and hosted at Griot’s Garage in Tacoma, Wash.

“Every dollar in profit is donated to help single mothers afford to care for their cars,” said Chad Celestres, Co-founder of Grand Touring Events.

All of the proceeds from the I <3 Mom Car Show are donated donate to the New Life Church, based in Kent. The Church runs a program called the “Single Mothers Oil Drive” where single mothers come for much needed oil changes completely free of charge. Celestres believes that in helping single mothers we help the community as a whole.

The first year the I <3 Mom Car Show ran Grand Touring Events raised $2,000 and collected 12-20 gallons of oil. Back then they called it “Mother’s Day Drive” but to many people got confused and showed up ready to cruise. Now the “I <3 Mom Car Show” name leaves no confusion.

Continuing the giving spirit, Griott’s Garage gives the I <3 Mom Car Show the space to use for no charge, along with donating a detailing kit for the raffle. Monster Energy drinks were ensuring the car show felt tuned and energized throughout the show by handing out cold drinks at their booth.

There was a fun mix of cars that came to show their own moms support. Zealous, a new Nissan crew, came and took home the Best Crew Award! Zealous is a newer crew of yet had the largest crew at the I <3 Mom Car Show. This is only the Zealous crew’s second event attending, the first being last week at Nissanfest.

“Most of us in the crew are military guys stationed at JBLM” said Robert Conway, one of the Zealous members. He owns a 2006 Nissan 350 Z Roadster which he plans on building, starting with coilovers and a Tomei exhaust.  

Running in the stock category was TJ Gruber with his clean RX7 FD, a vehicle hehad imported through RHD specialties in Kent. While he hasn’t been to too many events, he’s found the right place to show his car. Gruber purchased his car only 6 months ago, yet has already put a full cage into his right-hand drive car.  

Grand Touring Events plans  to grow by touring the nation with similar events. They also host “Fitment” which usually has a flashier turnout and supports The Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“Sometimes it’s the experience and sharing with the attendees how they have helped others is enough,” said Celestres of his soft-spot for the community.

For more information about the I <3 Mom Car Show, please visit the Grand Touring Events Facebook Page. To see what Griot’s Garage has up its sleeve’s for their next show, check out https://www.griotsgarage.com/.