Junuary Morning at the Greenwood Car Show

 

6/24/23 Mini Coopers, Greenwood Car Show

If I counted right, this was my seventh time at the Greenwood Car Show (missing only one year, not counting the pandemic years), and I think it was the coldest yet (although the year it rained was chilly, too). Even so, it’s one of my favorite summer events, and it’s always better with USk Seattle! The only other time we sketched together at this event was in 2019, so it was high time for another.

As is my personal tradition, I arrived at the show around 7:30 a.m. before the official opening to get a jump on the crowd and take a leisurely walk through the show. Claiming to be “a mile and half of classic rides,” the Greenwood Car Show is the largest free, nonprofit auto show in the area. I usually start by walking the central 15 blocks between 85^th and 70^th, then turn around and walk back, sketching along the way.

My first sketch was a row of Mini Coopers (above) next to the SAMOA tent (which I thought was an odd name until I learned that it’s an acronym for a Mini Cooper enthusiasts organization). Drawing all those Minis took longer than expected, and I was thoroughly chilled by the time I finished.

To warm up, I got coffee at Diva Espresso and found a lucky table facing the street. That’s how I captured the dark green Mercury Cougar. A few show participants sat at a nearby table, so I could eavesdrop on their conversation. I learned all about another car show that one guy had participated in only once because no porta-potties were provided. (Fortunately, the Greenwood Car Show has good facilities: It’s an official Seafair event.)

Mercury Cougar

Refreshed and warmed up, I headed to the USk meetup location at Alice Ball Park to officially start the outing. The park’s tables turned out to be a good spot to catch a longer view of the show and some Greenwood Avenue buildings.

Greenwood Avenue from Alice Ball Park

My last sketch of the day was a saxophone busker entertaining the crowd with jazz. (I gave him regular cash money, but I was impressed by his modern approach: The placard next to his busking jar had a QR code so that donations could be made to his Venmo account.)

Jazz-playing busker

I had to leave before the throwdown, but I caught up with Paul and Justin for a mini throwdown when we all sketched at the park. With a mile and a half of cars to sketch, this USk outing had a second throwdown at 3 p.m. for those who wanted to stay longer. Wish I could have stayed . . . those who did were treated to sunshine and warmer temps!

Paul, Justin and Tina at Alice Ball Park

David said he arrived at the show at 6 a.m.! He gets the hardcore award!