5th annual Hendricken car show revs up this Sunday

Posted 5/15/14

At approximately 12:30 Tuesday afternoon, a 1988 GMC Z-71 Monster Truck pulled into the parking lot on the Warwick Avenue side of Bishop Hendricken High School.

The driver – and owner – was …

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5th annual Hendricken car show revs up this Sunday

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At approximately 12:30 Tuesday afternoon, a 1988 GMC Z-71 Monster Truck pulled into the parking lot on the Warwick Avenue side of Bishop Hendricken High School.

The driver – and owner – was George Arakelian, a Johnston resident and businessman who owns A Custom Car Stereo on Atwood Avenue. But Arakelian wasn’t visiting the private Roman Catholic high school to visit his son George III, a member of the Hendricken class of 2015.

Arakelian’s mission was, as Hendricken’s Vice President of Operations Paul Danesi explained, to “promote our fifth annual Car Show.”

Seven Hendricken students, along with Danesi, Director of Technology Ron Mosca and retired teacher Mike Benedetto, teamed with Arakelian for photos to promote the fifth annual Bishop Hendricken High School Car Show that will be held Sunday, May 18, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the school’s parking lot off Warwick Avenue.

“That’s quite a truck,” Danesi said to Arakelian, who for the second time in as many years had been a prime organizer in the Car Show. “It’s an impressive vehicle, that’s for sure.”

To which Arakelian said, “There will be a lot of makes and models here Sunday, and of course we hope the weather will be just like it is today – a sparkling sun, slight breeze and blue sky.”

Arakelian emphasized that fact because last year’s show was cut short because of rain.

“The weather report says Sunday is supposed to be a beautiful day,” Arakelian said. “This is an important show that will feature the latest models from some of the state’s best known dealers, and we’re also expecting some old antique cars, too.”

Sunday’s fifth annual Hendricken Car Show is one of the most important events on the school’s academic calendar.

“We hold this show each year to help raise money for the Faculty/Staff Scholarship Fund,” Danesi explained. “The fund provides a family in need with scholarship money to send their son to Bishop Hendricken High School.”

And as Arakelian added, “That’s why people like Mike Flood and Paul Masse have a team of staffers and many of their makes and models on display – both their sons are members of Hendricken’s outstanding alumni list.”

Flood Ford, Ed Tarbox’s Tarbox Motors and Masse Chevrolet-Buick-GMC and its family of dealerships in Rhode Island will all be part of what Benedetto – who has chaired the show in recent years – called “a day of family fun and vehicles of today and those of years past.”

Sunday’s show will also feature the always-popular Bounce House for children that has been donated for the day by Vinny Pezzullo, a friend of Arakelian, and his wife Gina who owns and operates My Cousin Vinny’s Rentals.

But Pezzullo is doing more than just donating the Bounce House.

“He donates his time at the event,” Gina Sabitoni-Arakelian explained. “Likewise, many of the Hendricken students will be helping to make the show a success, as well. All the kids say they look forward to the show because you get to be around some pretty cool cars.”

Sunday’s show will also feature food and music, as well as over 20 trophies. The highlight of the post-show awards ceremony will be the presentation of the “Hendricken Hawk Choice Award.”

As Benedetto emphasized while looking over Arakelian’s Monster Truck, “Please come and show off your ride. It’s going to be a great day for a great cause, one that once completed will help send the son of a family in need to Bishop Hendricken High.”

Entry fee is just $10 per vehicle, while there’s no charge for general admission.

“We want people to come with their children and enjoy two bounce houses and music that will be free,” Arakelian said while climbing back into his Monster Truck on Tuesday. “We’ll also be selling popcorn, hot dogs and hamburgers, too – and at reasonable prices to help further fund a very important scholarship.”

Arakelian then paused, before adding, “Each and every person that comes to the show Sunday will get free Del’s Lemonade, courtesy of Ed Tarbox of Tarbox Motors. That’s another example of how people are coming together to make this show the biggest and best ever.”

People who own any classic car or vehicle and would like to enter Sunday’s show can also call Arakelian at 946-0010, Gina Sabitoni-Arakelian at 499-1317 or Danesi at 419-6533.

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