Tricked-out rides at Maker Faire
Once again, the Realistic Impressions Car Club of Kansas City is hosting the custom car exhibition and lowrider hopping competition at Maker Faire. The annual, two-day family-friendly “maker” event at Union Station opens this Saturday, June 23. The interactive festival of discovery, invention and imagination is open each day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All kinds of “makers,” including custom car owners will be showing off their creative endeavors and offering workshops and demonstrations. The custom car exhibition will be on view near the Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain on Pershing Road in front of the station.
“It will allow close inspection of the vehicles, and people will be able to ask owners about the vehicles and how things work,” says car club president, Jorge Flores.
Realistic Impressions has invited custom vehicle clubs across the Midwest, Flores says. He expects the exhibition will have upwards of 100 vehicles total over the event.
“The public can expect to see lowriders, muscle cars, motorcycles, lowrider trucks and bicycles, low rods, rat rods, cars with big wheels, lifted SUVs (sport utility vehicles) and mini trucks,” Flores says. “That’s the beauty of this show; we’ve had just about everything.”
Vehicle owners and club members will be available to answer questions in English and Spanish.
“Many of the clubs have bilingual members,” says Flores who is bilingual.
The lowrider hopping competition to see which vehicle can bounce highest is scheduled for Sunday between 1 and 2 p.m.
“A lot of engineering goes into making the vehicle sturdy enough and safe enough to get off the ground so it doesn’t break, bend or fall apart,” Flores says.
The Maker Faire at Union Station, now in its eighth year, is part of a global movement to showcase makers, their creations and the creation process. It’s one of the many programs historic Union Station hosts that earned it Kansas City’s “Attraction of the Year” in 2017. Maker faires are held in cities worldwide, promoted by Make: magazine. The tagline for Maker Faire reads “The Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth.”
Last year, 18,000 people attended Maker Faire at Union Station, which brought together more than 1,800 exhibitors -- “makers” and maker assistants -- from seven states. There were over 350 booths, many offering hands-on activities for hobbyists, artisans, inventors, scientists, educators, crafters and do-it-yourself and tech enthusiasts of all ages.
Flores spoke to about 10,000 attendees last year, he estimates.
A supervisor with the Water Services Department, he’s an ardent ambassador for custom vehicle enthusiasts. His first car was a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme lowrider, and he, his brothers and their late father, Juan were charter members of Realistic Impressions.
“We’re regular people that have a passion for vehicles,” he says. “Most people with lowriders and such are business people with families. This is a family-friendly hobby.”
Editor’s Note:
Tickets to Maker Faire at Union Station can be purchased online at www.unionstation.org.
