Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Car Models: The beautiful, the sleek strut their stuff for Supercars on State Street.

Screenshot 2016-06-23 14.44.13Not every exotic car show is a memorial tribute to a friend’s mother, but that’s exactly what motivated Evan Ross to start Supercars on State Street.

Ross, a 2011 Central Dauphin High School graduate now living in Florida, began the annual event in 2010 to benefit the American Cancer Society in honor of Patti Burkhardt, who lost her life to breast cancer at 42. She was the mother of Evan Ross’ close friend, Sarah Burkhardt.

“It’s a labor of love,” Ross said of the car show.

This year’s event, scheduled for July 30, features makes of cars—Maserati, DeLorean and Lotus, for example—not often seen on the streets of Harrisburg. The show quickly has become one of the largest exotic car shows in the northeast. Last year, 350 registrants hailed from 11 states, numbers that organizers expect to top.

“You typically don’t see a lot of Lamborghinis and Ferraris around Harrisburg,” said Ed Ross of Susquehanna Township, who organizes Supercars with son, Evan. “Other car shows in the area are for cars that are antiques, classics or muscle cars.”

Evan Ross never knew Patti Burkhardt because she died months before he and Sarah Burkhardt met as sixth-graders at Linglestown Junior High. What he did know, however, was that his young friend bore a painful grief from her mother’s early death that would never totally ebb.

Today, Sarah Burkhardt, a first-grade teacher in the East Pennsboro School District, carries memories of her mother that are warm and wistful.

“As soon as you walked into a room, my mom could make you smile,” she said. “She was the glue that held the family together. She was always good at bringing out the best in people.”

 

Passion for Cars

As teens, Sarah and Evan began taking part in fundraisers like car washes and the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk held each year on City Island to benefit the Patti’s Light Foundation, named in honor of Sarah’s mother.

Then Evan came up with the idea to hold a car show fundraiser that would benefit the American Cancer Society in Patti Burkhardt’s honor. Supercars on State Street was born.

“I just always had a passion for cars,” Evan explained. “It sparked my interest. I thought (the car show) would be fun and a surprise for Sarah with a check in her mother’s memory. I thought it could be something that she was involved with and not have to do a lot of work.”

Sarah said she didn’t know anything about what was happening until Evan told her to come to State Street one Saturday morning in the summer of 2010. That’s where she spotted 60 exotic cars lined up near the state Capitol complex for what was the first Supercars on State Street.

“She was shocked,” Evan recalled

“I was really surprised. I had no clue,” Sarah recounted. “Evan just told me to that I had to be at State Street. He didn’t say anything about a car show. He was just one of those people who was always there for me. It was just such an honor that he would do this.”

For the first year, Supercars on State Street raised $2,100 for the American Cancer Society. Last year, the show raised around $10,000, pulling in a total of more than $30,000 in its first five years. Ed Ross said he hopes this year’s show earns $20,000.

Ed Ross, who lives in Lower Paxton Township, said that he does most of the “local duties,” while Evan takes care of the show’s website from Florida.

“My son and I have always been interested in cars,” he noted. “We’ve been to a lot of car shows, so we had some idea of what it involved to organize one. However, a lot of cars shows are held at fairgrounds. They don’t have to deal with a lot of logistics that we do.”

 

Many Friends

The show runs on State Street from Front Street to 3rd Street, and on Front Street from Forster Street to the Walnut Street Bridge. For the first time this year, cars also will be shown on N. 3rd Street from South Street to North Street, which includes 120 parking spaces situated near the steps leading to the Capitol.

One of Ed’s many duties is wrestling with several local agencies to clear parking for the event, which includes pre-show parking on City Island. This year, the job has been made a little easier, said Ed, because Standard Parking has become an event sponsor. Until now, the Rosses were forced to buy out parking meters in the area of the show.

Ed also makes the show’s trophies, which are comprised of a wood base topped with various used car parts. This year’s award categories will highlight five Ferrari classes, with the remainder being People’s Choice awards.

Over the years, the Rosses have made many friends through the show, including Adam Frank of Monroe Township. Frank said he helps out and has participated in the show for the past three years after first learning about it on social media.

“Today, I was passing out show flyers in the State Street area,” he said. “I like being at the show and seeing people from all over the country with their support. I heard that this is one of the biggest car shows on the whole East Coast. We love to do charity.”

Supercars on State Street takes place in downtown Harrisburg on July 30, noon to 5 p.m. Vehicle check-in runs 8 to 11 a.m. For more information, visit www.supercarsonstatestreet.com.

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