Cars steal show at Summer Daze in Warrenville

A car show featuring 80 vehicles and awards in 23 categories was the main event Saturday at the 35th annual Summer Daze in downtown Warrenville.

Staff from Countryside Customs in Warrenville started announcing award winners at 2:30 p.m., just as skies were beginning to darken with impending storms that closed the festival down about an hour later.

Some who displayed cars during the festival, like Ron Bachmura of Hanover Park, are vintage vehicle owners and car show veterans. Wearing a T-shirt showing his red 1933 Ford three-window, Bachmura claimed first place in the category for street rods built in 1933 or earlier.

He said he takes the car to shows in Roselle and Wood Dale as well, and sets up a mirror under the vehicle’s back fender so viewers can see the pipes of its undercarriage and a decorative American flag.

Krystal Tapanes of Aurora and her father, Jose, brought their red 1989 Lamborghini Countach, complete with almost “Batmobile”-style doors that open upward instead of outward. The father-daughter duo came in second place in the special interest category.

“We just come out to show it off,” Krystal Tapanes said.

Others attending Summer Daze on Saturday afternoon formed small crowds under trees and listened to Tropixplosion, a Caribbean show band featuring steel drums, or bought lunch from a variety of food vendors, including Wurst Kitchen of Aurora and Two Brothers Tap House of Warrenville.

Plenty of kids and a few brave adults rode a 50-yard zip line set up along Stafford Place, which Warrenville Park District marketing specialist Karey Ross said was a new addition to the festival this year.

“It’s been pretty popular,” Ross said about the zip line. “There’s been a pretty steady crowd.”