‘Freedom isn’t free’ car show returns to Citrus Heights

By Mike Hazlip—
After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19 last year, car enthusiasts gathered Saturday at El Tapatio in Citrus Heights for a July Fourth-themed “Freedom Isn’t Free” car show.

With vehicles as individual as their owners filling the parking lot between El Tapatio and the now-shuttered China Buffet, Saturday’s event drew a patriotic crowd. Spectators young and old wore red, white, and blue as they admired vehicles from America’s past and present.

Event organizer Mary Gromer said she estimated about 100 vehicles were displayed with about 300 spectators gathered to view the event. Gromer said proceeds from vehicle registrations and other donations would go toward Blue Star Moms, an organization dedicated to sending care packages to soldiers serving overseas.

“The freedom isn’t free is something we love because our car show is always honored and dedicated to the veterans,” she said. “No matter what the cause is, if it’s a Christmas show, we always honor the veterans at every show.”

El Tapatio Manager Hector Alcazar said the annual event brings the community together and increases business for the only restaurant on a block with two other vacant buildings. He also said he didn’t charge organizers for use of the parking lot, and gave a donation to the cause.

Joel Joyce of Fairfield took up a prominent spot near the front, directly across from a registration table where he proudly displayed his 1970 El Camino. Decorated with star stickers and flags attached to all four corners, Joyce said he and his wife are known for decorating their vehicle with holiday themes.

“The flag, to us, is important. I’ve always liked the flag, but it gets such a beating in the news and everything else,” Joyce said. “So we made it a mission that we’re going to go out to do shows and we’re going to hand out flags.”

Over the past two years, Joyce said he and his wife have likely handed out several thousand flags each year.

At the opposite end of the parking lot, and also of the character spectrum, was Peter Downey. The 1968 Chevrolet Camaro he brought to the event is still registered in his grandmother’s name. Downey said she was the original owner, and the car has been in the family for three generations.

Another vehicle owner, Sue Davey, said her blue 1964 El Camino with an American Eagle and flag air brushed on the tailgate was a tribute to her first husband, a Vietnam veteran.

“We try to support the troops as much as we can,” Davey said. “They didn’t get a whole lot of attention when they came back.”

In another row, Bill Fitzmaurice sat behind a 1959 Ford Thunderbird. Wearing an Air Force veteran hat, Fitzmaurice said he was grateful for the freedom to gather at events again.

“I think that it’s fantastic that we can come to an event like this,” he said. “Just being able to be here today I think is a privilege.”

Organizer Mary Gromer said she plans to keep the car culture alive with future shows now that life is beginning to return to normal after the pandemic.

“People were yearning to be free, so we decided to do Freedom Isn’t Free,” she said. “There is a cost to all the freedoms, and the soldiers know that more than anything.”