Day of Hope Cancer fundraiser to feature new car show this year
Dave Alley
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Now in its 12th year, the upcoming Day of Hope will have a little bit of a different spin when the popular cancer fundraiser is held next week.
On Saturday, Aug. 23, four days before the event is held, an inaugural car show will take place at Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria.
“For the past four years, since 2020, we have hosted a Day of Hope car parade,” said Jessa Brooks, Marian Regional Medical Center Foundation Vice President of Philanthropy. “This year instead, we are going to be doing a Day of Hope car show.”
While the car parade was an instant success when it was created, Brooks explained the change to a car show was made due a few different reasons.
“Not only did we receive inquiries from members of the public, recommending for us to do a car show, but also members of the community who wanted to participate, who work Monday through Friday found it challenging,” said Brooks. “Last but not least, our is our Day of Hope team is they sell newspapers between 7 a.m. and 12 noon. When we did the car parade, our teams were leaving their intersections around 10 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. to make it over to the fair park for the 11 a.m. car parade, so it wasn’t advantageous for the Day of Hope newspaper sales for the event and for the community volunteers. Having them do two events in one day was not ideal.”
Dignity Health describes the car show as family-friendly event featuring dozens of registered cars on display in the parking lot wrapping around Mission Hope.
In addition to the classic cars, there will also be sponsors, various activities, cancer resources and much more for the community to enjoy.
“There will also be a “touch a truck” section of our public events where members of the community can have the opportunity to take pictures of and to roam through Santa Maria Police Department vehicles, Santa Maria Fire Department vehicles, Cal Coast machinery, tractors, Rugged Radios trucks,” said Brooks. “There will be Santa Mark Park Rangers and American Medical Response, AMR. We will also have food trucks and kids activities. It should be a lot of fun for the day, and of course, the awards for the car show.”
The Day of Hope Car Show will be held Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be free to attend.
The Day of Hope was created in 2014 and specifically raises funds for patients at Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria and Arroyo Grande.
On Wednesday, Aug. 27, starting at 7 a.m., hundreds of volunteers will be located throughout the Santa Maria Valley and in South San Luis Obispo County at dozens street corners, intersections, parking lots, schools, churches and other highly visible locations.
Participating teams members will once again be selling special edition $1 Santa Maria Times newspapers.
“We have more than 80 teams participating for Day of Hope this year,” said Brooks. “Also, something that we’re really grateful for is we’ve had a number of businesses and restaurants step forward to support Day of Hope in unique ways, whether it’s donating a portion of sales on a particular day, or it is hosting their own team within their establishment. We’re really grateful to the community for supporting Day of Hope, in a really big way to support local cancer patients.
Proceeds specifically helps the cancer center provide patients with a myriad of complimentary programs and services.
For more information about the car show or the upcoming Day of Hope, click here to visit the official webpage.
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