Last Sunday marked the return of the Red Square Car Show, an annual charity event we organize along side Cats Exotics & SigEp that benefits the Progressive Animal Welfare Society. RSCS started off small, growing exponentially over the last few years with 2016 resulting in a complete sell-out, maxing the University-approved vehicular capacity of Red Square.
We assembled the team early at the shop planning to descend on Red Square by 10:30 sharp, giving us just enough time to unpack before roll in began.
With a Lamborghini Aventador near the front of the pack, we zipped out of Lynnwood & hopped on 405 towards Seattle. Little did we know, we were chasing the tail lights of the show’s to-be announced People’s Choice award winner.
Parking on the bricks was a cinch this year using a new zone system & numbered flags. As soon as participants were finished filling out their vehicle details, they were on the move and in position for show time.
Once roll in began it became clear that it was going to be quite the event. Red Square Car Show has a tendency to bring a lot of cars out of the woodwork that we’ve never seen before, along with a lot of familiar faces. We could go through the list of sign-ups vehicle by vehicle, but it’s always more exciting when there’s some element of surprise!
Soon enough 12 noon hit & RSCS9 was officially on. The 9th annual Red Square Car Show was fully booked with over 130 cars & bikes out in full support of PAWS.
Wandering through the rows of the show we saw quite a few of our local favorites, including the Hot Wheels inspired DeLorean DMC-12.
It also was nice to see a particularly purple Caterham that’s come out multiple years in a row, along with a few other track toys on the bricks. The UW Formula Motorsports team made an appearance as well.
RSCS9 had a pretty strong selection of classic & vintage cars on display too, with a relatively equal spread of European or domestic customs.
One particularly eye-catching classic was a green & gold Alfa Romeo GTV – the 2016 winner of Cats Exotics’ “Vettura Unica” Award for most unique vehicle!
Of course, the Subaru 360 just a car over was equally hard to miss.
In fact, quite a few Subies came out to support PAWS – one Brat owner even planned ahead & set up an umbrella in the back so he could mingle from the comfort of his rear facing jump seats.
It wouldn’t be Red Square Car Show without some well-behaved companions in the mix. There were dogs galore out enjoying the sun at Red Square, and even one incredibly chill cat.
Import & modified cars came out in full force with a few local heavy hitters in the mix.
The winner of last year’s Most Unique Vehicle award arrived in style hoping to claim back-to-back victory with a crazy Miata-based Catfish. While he didn’t take home the title for 2016, there was no denying that the crazy little racer caught a lot of looks.
Surprisingly enough, only one other Miata came out to stunt on the bricks at RSCS9.
Plenty of performance sedans & luxury coupes were a part of the display, including an AMG Black Series & what looked to be a bright Lime Rock Orange M4 .
As it turned out, the cleanest car in the show also came with a blue & white badge on the nose. Winner of the 2016 Red Square Car Show White Glove Award for Best Detail went to none other than a stellar E28 M5.
As the day came to a close we packed up and participants began to trickle out. Soon, the pack thinned leaving only Cats & NWAS vehicles behind.
After nine successful years of hosting the Red Square Car Show, there’s no doubt that this year was by far one of the best yet. Of course, it all wouldn’t have been possible without a dedicated team & the generous contributions of our show participants, spectators, and affiliates.
Once the bricks were clean, we took the opportunity to snag a handful of squad photos & glamor shots with friends of the shop. All in all, RSCS9 was a roaring success with over $9,600 raised. We can’t wait to go even bigger next year for the 50th anniversary of PAWS!
Hoping to see your car in more show coverage? Head over to the official Red Square Charity Car Show facebook page for a comprehensive gallery of participants & be sure to follow along via instagram for even more media from the event.
Red Square Car Show is brought to you in part by NWAS, Cats Exotics, and Sig Ep. 100% all proceeds go directly to the Progressive Animal Welfare Society. For more details on future RSCS events, visit redsquarecarshow.com.