GALLERY: Lots of cool vehicles, different interests at Spring Festival car show
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 3 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | May 28, 2025 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Just as every recipe will be at least a little different depending on the cook, said Angel Mora, Moses Lake, so too is every truck – or car or tractor or motorcycle – different depending on the owner.
“You can make it, but it won’t be the same as everybody else’s,” Angel Mora said.
Mora and his brother, Chino Mora, are truck guys; with their families, they brought two Chevy Silverados, a Toyota Tahoe and a Ford Coyote, tricked out but not too tricked out, to the 2025 Spring Festival car show.
It’s sponsored by the Lakesiders Car Club, and drew about 180 cars, trucks, tractors and bikes, said Andrew Romero, who’s on the organizing committee. That was with stiff competition from a major lowrider show on the westside, he said.
The entries filled two blocks of Third Avenue and spilled over into adjoining parking lots, featuring classic cars, new cars, rebuilt cars and modified cars. Jason Pastor-Oneel, Walla Walla, wanted his silver Cadillac to personify summer, which required a little metal work.
“We cut it,” he said, removing the top to turn the car into a roadster. “We made it a great summer car.”
He's had people tell him it just looks like summer, he said.
Some cars had elaborate restorations or alterations, while others were basically untouched or had only a clear coat over a worn patina. Steve and Shannon Neel, Moses Lake, have left their 1972 Dodge pretty much like they found it.
“Original paint. Original everything,” Steve Neel said. “A survivor, you would call it.”
The Neels found the Dodge for sale while out and about in Everett one afternoon, he said.
“It took a couple of weeks for my wife to talk me into calling the guy,” Steve Neel said.
It’s basically like it came off the showroom floor, he said; even after more than 50 years, the engine runs smoothly, and it doesn’t smoke.
“Just a few more dents and a little more rust,” he said.
Angel Mora has done some work on his Silverado, dropping the body a little bit, repainting it, adding new wheels and upgrading the sound system. It’s not an everyday ride, he said.
“I just want to show it,” Angel said.
The 2020 Lotus that Kenny Richins, Moses Lake, entered – actually the car his wife entered, since it’s hers, he said – isn’t an everyday car either.
“It gets pampered,” he said.
He was carefully wiping dust off after a breeze came up.
“For work, I have a Subaru,” he said.
Ed Springen, of Moses Lake, still uses the vehicle he entered in the show.
“This is a working tractor,” he said of his 1951 Farmall.
There were more cars and trucks than tractors, but they drew interest from spectators just the same, and Springen said that was one reason to show them.
“I really get a kick out of the kids hopping on them. A lot of pictures get taken,” he said.
Springen and fellow tractor exhibitor Todd Voth are part of the Columbia Basin Antique Tractor Club. Club members brought nine tractors for display on Saturday.
“Part of keeping the history of tractors alive,” Voth said.
The 1947 McCormick on display wasn’t actually his, though.
“I bought that for my grandson when he was three. He’s 17 now,” Voth said.
The Lakesiders have been sponsoring the show for three years, and Romero said they’ve had a lot of community support. Businesses provided raffle prizes, and other car clubs in the area have been willing to help out, he said. The club has plans for the future.
“Our goal is to be the biggest show in the eastside on Memorial Day weekend,” he said.
The street was packed on a sunny spring Saturday morning, some of the spectators showing an interest in tractors.
“You guys want to test drive a tractor? We won’t push you to buy it,” Springen said.
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