Scoop the Loop, car show slated for this weekend

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It’s about that time of year when Seymour’s biggest traffic jam begins again.

It’s not a stopped train that will cause delays downtown and nearby, but the seventh annual Scoop the Loop.

This year will again include the fourth car show to benefit the Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108 to help the organization conduct its annual Cops and Kids program that provides Christmas gifts to children in need.

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C.J. Foster, the organization’s president, said the lodge has a goal of raising $10,000. Last year, the organization raised $9,454 through the event.

That added up to about half of what the organization needed to purchase more than $19,000 in Christmas gifts for a record-setting 145 kids in 2017.

They also want to have 300 for the show the night before.

“Every penny raised this weekend goes toward the Christmas shopping program,” he said.

Foster said getting involved with Scoop the Loop came at the right time three years ago because the organization lost its grant to fund some of the Christmas program.

“This just happened to align with the stars,” he said.

Larry McDonald of This Old Guitar Music Store and Tom Gray from Seymour Area Cruisers also work to organize the event.

“It has been great to work with these guys,” Foster said.

In addition to providing music for the event, McDonald prints fliers and T-shirts, promotes the event and works with other organizers to get people involved.

Gray’s role is promoting the event within his group and other car enthusiasts. Both help collect door prizes.

“Without Tom Gray, this car show would not be what it is,” Foster said. “We couldn’t do it.”

Gray is a founding member of Seymour Area Cruisers. The group was founded after members participated in Scoop the Loop the first year and discussed starting a car club.

The group has grown from 10 members to 80 since 2014. They will volunteer to help park cars during the car show and encourage friends to attend.

The group also helped with the Redeemer Lutheran Church car show and clean the streets on Sunday after Scoop the Loop.

“We have great people that put in a lot of work,” he said. “They do it out of the kindness of their heart.”

Gray said it is interesting that the car club and police department have forged a working relationship since things weren’t always that way.

“There was a time when police departments and car guys didn’t necessarily get along,” he said with a smile. “That’s not the case here, and there are people that praise these cops here, and they’re people I didn’t think would have done that years ago.”

Gray and his late brother, John, also are featured on this year’s shirt. McDonald designs the shirt each year and said he wanted to tribute Gray’s late brother, who died before last year’s Scoop the Loop.

“This year, I put the corner that he helps at during the event each year to help honor the work he does here and his brother,” McDonald said. “I think the picture is a scene from his brother’s last Scoop the Loop.”

McDonald also has been adding businesses that have come and gone throughout the years on the back of the fliers so people can remember the businesses they used to visit as they would scoop the loop.

“I thought it would be appropriate to remember the businesses that have come and gone since our days scooping the loop,” he said.

The list is not complete, McDonald said, because he has been relying on memory and encourages people to tell him about businesses that he has forgotten about.

“There have been about 20 businesses that have been added to the flier since I printed it because people have let me know some that I had forgotten on the list,” he said. “I think it’s important to remember the businesses that were here.

“It’s just a great event for a great cause,” McDonald said. “What more could you want?”

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What: Pre-Scoop the Loop Car Show

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Friday

Where: Robertson Feed Mill Parking Lot and Walnut Street Parking Lot

Entry fee: $15

Fun stuff to do: Silent auction items; Indianapolis Colts Cheerleaders will sign autographs from 7:45 to 8:45 p.m. and then pose for photos with awards winners from 8:45 to 9:45 p.m; the Indiana Donor Network will have its Indianapolis 500 race car there and bring its race simulator

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What: Scoop the Loop

When: 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday

Where: Downtown Seymour

Big Red and A&W Root Beer floats will be sold by the Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108 to benefit the Cops and Kids Christmas program.

Music

Who: TOG Band, Kyle and Kirsten Lutes, Patrick Boyd and Daniel Grube and Jordan Richart

Where: One Chamber Square

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