EARS & GEARS

Sporting the look of our brand new Special Event Site Structure, all agreed the 2010 EARS & GEARS Car Show and Family Day took on a whole new class this year and we want to thank those to participated to help support EARS.


	A FIRST FOR EARS ~ Our all new 2011 SAFARI SPECTACULAR was joined with our annual EARS & GEARS CAR Show to make the day & night another one of a kind event for EARS and Monterey County.


	“Butch” of course was there to oversee all the activities, an EARS & GEARS tradition.

Food, wine, beer, crafts, clothing and much more was provided by the many wonderful vendors who pitched in to make the a huge success. We are thankful to all.

And then of course, there were the AWESOME cars that join us every year to decorate our event.

We realize there are countless shows they could attend each weekend and truly appreciate their dedication and support of EARS.


	“POP FICTION” was the band and one of the best decisions we made for they ROCKED the RANCH !!!

		Somehow or other, they had everyone on the lawn up and dancing ~ young, old and other...


	A GREAT place to meet pretty girls, no matter how old you are...


	... except of course when Mom’s watch’n as little Jameson Walker learned...


	An exciting performance by “CIRCUS CRUZ” was also on the menu, a treat to all.




		Dan entertained all with bank of amps and a one off lazer guitar. The perfect intro duction to our grand finale...


	Professional and Renown SHRED GUITAR player Dan Fastuca WOKE UP SALINAS with a one of a kind National Anthem.




		Choreographed to music, this show received more compliments than any performance we’ve ever had on the ranch. Another great decision.


		The evening ended with a “SPECTACULAR” Laser Light Show across the sky above and upon the Vision Quest Ranch Special Event Building.


	*Never been to one of our shows before? check out some photos below from previous years and you won’t want to miss our next one.*


	A very special thanks to Dennis and Connie Smith for not only helping us decorate the interior of our new event building with their very special automotive art, but for being so kind and generous in sharing them with others.

History was WELL represented at our show this year thanks to Joe Sammuts, 1930 Ford displayed proudly next to Dennis Smith’s GT40, the evolution of Ford..

It took three Corvettes in the room to offset this duo!


	Motorcycles were truly cream of the crop this years, all truly incredible.


	The Mini’s have always supported our show and we want them to know how much we appreciate having them. Elephants LOVE MINI’S !!!


		Our Best in Show aka Elephants Choice this year was this gorgeous teal Chevy, flawless in every way.

	And of course, the elephants, that joined the event all day to visit with our friends.


	EARS & GEARS Family Day & Car Show on July 5th 2009 sees success once again!


	A very special thanks to our special friends and donors, Caesar at DENT DOCTORS and Bruce at Teal Tracks for helping us trick out our EARS & GEARS bus for the show this year. It made a HUGE difference!!!




		Our forever attempt to have things at our show that you won’t see at any other car show had our usual visitor, Butch the elephant overseeing the show and our newest addition to the Vision Quest Ranch making his debut appearance, “Cosmo”, our baby mountain lion (being fed his bottle by EARS volunteer, Shannon Gurley)

We even had a “superhero” or two runnin around...

As always, the kitchen & BBQ crew made it all look so easy.

Special thanks to the several vendors that set asside busier shows this weekend to help out the elephants.

1/2 cycle ~ 1/2 car . Perfect for our show!!!

This year’s view from the elephant-cam to include Charlie’s sacred Corvette Island...

A crowd favorite, Charlene Combs’ pride and joy Buick. It takes a little know-how and a lotta imagination to make something this special.


	What other show do people gamble on what square an elephant is gonna “poop” in??? Buffy kept them guessing for a while!


	And hopefully the start of a new tradition for EARS & GEARS, the INCREDIBLE performance by Lummas Family who stunned the crowd with their choreographed aerial kite performance. If you’re looking for an EXTREMELY unique and special addition to your event, visit their website at www.lummas.com We can’t recommend them enough!

Our 2008 show saw yet another record attendance. It pleases us to know that our number seem to increase every year for it shows us that the word is getting out and that people really are enjoying the difference we advertise in our car show and family day...


	Hey, who said “hot rod golf carts” weren’t invited???


	Of course, as always, it’s all about the elephants at this show ~ as it should be.




	It takes the donations of many to host such an event and have all the donations got completely to the elephants. Thanks to the Walker Yulich families of Star Sanitation and Valley Fabrication, this is made possible for EARS.


	Our Silent Auction Team is without a doubt, a huge part of our success on this day. They make it so almost everyone goes home with a little something special.


	Wild Things Owner, Charlie Sammut and Staff Member, Aja Kase team up to create a matching Corvette/Motorcycle duo.


	A very special thanks to the vendors who take the time out of their many choice weekends to be at our show.

July 1st, 2007 was the date of our fourth annual EARS & GEARS Family Day & Car Show

Our show this year saw record attendance with over 150 cars. We raised a record breaking $15K to help support the elephants. It just gets better and better every year, this year having the benefit of our all new 10,000sq.ft. special event site tent! We can’t thank the many who attended and the volunteers who help us pull it off enough. We couldn’t do it without them.


	Of course, it’s always all about the elephants at this show ~ as it should be.




	And no one elephant is better at making new friends than our very own Butch.




		A donation of our very own custom BBQ from AGR Welding Services in Salinas made our event that much more spectacular this year!



		Dining under our brand new incredible 10,000 sq. ft canopy.


	And what’s a BBQ without the best staff of BBQ’ers and volunteers in the kitchen that an elephant could ever ask for...???


	The view from the Butch Cam this year was better than ever - EARS director and trainer, Charlie Sammut had the best seat in the house!


	Above: Jim Ward wins the Best of Show Honors with his ‘32 Ford Roadster while Meredith Cruz takes “Elephant’s Choice” award with her pink Caddy from EARS volunteer Joe DiMaggio and EARS President, Kenny Beck.


	The animals weren’t the only “exotics” at the show!!!


		July 2nd, 2006 was the date of our 2006 EARS & GEARS Family Day & Car Show Our show this year saw record attendance with over 140 cars. We raised a record $12K to help support the elephants. It was without a doubt a HUGE success. We can’t thank the many who attended and the volunteers who help us pull it off enough. We couldn’t do it without them.

	Emails and letters once again are pouring in to prove that our show is unlike any other and those who attended don’t want to miss another. Be sure to check back for dates of our 2007 event.




		Special Thanks to Mike Horsely for donating the art work and the event t-shirts - this will make THREE years in a row. YOU ROCK MIKE!


	A view from the helicopter compliments of Ken and Gab Adelman...

Corvettes and Mustangs face off - a bit of fun that was well received by all that contributed GREATLY to the show. Rumor has it that the competition could bet a bit more intense next year...???!!!

”Butch” posing with our friend, sponsor and key vendor, Dotseths Speed and Performance/Parts Pro. (Owners John & Joe)

Butch helping DJ Karen & Co. spin the tunes. Elephants give the word “nosey” a more intense meaning!

Bus Driver Tina Sammut driving the shuttle bus to and from spectator parking - a dream she had that was easy to make come true.

Many say, “the shows only as good as the cooks” which guarantees our success!!! They are THE BEST!!!!

A view from the top of Butch. We call it the “Butch-Cam”


	Shots from the “Butch-Cam”.

We are always inventing new competitions to make our event different. This year, Dotseths Speed and Performance sponsored the Spark Plug Challenge, a time event to change a set of spark plugs blind folded and guided by a wife, girl friend, or buddy, or friend.

THIS WAS A BLAST and a must do for next year only next year, we might try to build a motor!




		Hey, they both agreed she was faster at it than he was...



		What are they looking at??? Whey the Dumbo Drop of course. Never did an elephant pooping mean so much to so many. Two lucky winners won $300 for buying the right square. Poop really does happen - eventually!






					What’s and EARS & GEARS without our vintage fire truck and back-hoe competition. Special thanks to John and Janis Waltman and Paul T. Beck Contractors for making those two things happen for the third year in a row.


	And of course as always, some VERY special cars and bikes!!!




		Once again this year, the PT’s were out in force making a GREAT showing. These folks are just too cool.

			2006 BEST OF SHOW


	Check out our 2005 event ....




		Special thanks to Jim Cheatham and Verticare Helicopters.


		A view from the helicopter...

			A view of the Helicopter...




		The chopper rides are just one more thing that make our show different than so many others.




		Our Pachyderm of Ceremonies, “Lisa”. After all, what’s an elephant sanctuary fundraiser without an elephant???




		A very special visit from a very special man. Jim Kelly’s friends know the effort he put forth to be here today and we can’t thank him enough for doing so. This event would not have taken place with Jim and Zandra Kelly’s help!


	...and special thanks again to John and Jannis Waltman for loaning us their vintage ‘53 MACK Fire Truck again this year. The kids never stop loving or riding on Fire Trucks.




		This year, the old girl saw a visit from a younger model brought compliments of our friends from Salinas Rural Fire.




	Can we ever stop thanking the cooking crew enough??? The tri-tip was OUTSTANDING!!!


	A thankless job...


	A young hotrodder...


		This is one show no one can ever say suffered from a lack of awards !!!


		A very special thanks to Tony and Tina Sammut and Tony Sammut Development of Salinas for a very special donation of a very special jump house to use at our EARS events. Most of the kids spent the ENTIRE day inside our new toy.


	Besides the rockin tunes donated by DJ Karen & Rocking Caddy Daddy, other activities included hubcap Frisbee competitions, back-hoe bucket brigade competition, horse shoe and volleyball tournaments and more....


	Special thanks to EARS volunteer, Maia Davidson for wearing the silly elephant suit all day and Paul T. Beck company for letting us beat up their back-hoe.


	... and those are just the adult games... The kids had their own agenda including an all day cake walk, sack races, face painting, bean bag tosses and more...

Question: What are all these adults waiting so feverishly for ???

Answer: This elephant (Butch) to poop in the square they purchased to win a bunch of money in our “Dumbo Drop” 50/50 raffle ...

Ah, a winner...


	... and of course, the cars...



		Some very special trucks were shown this year(top) - one that hauled a very special race car (right) - Thanks Buddy




		Special thanks to the car clubs that attended the show. They really did contribute to our numbers. The PT Cruisers were out in full force as well as the Monterey Peninsula Corvette Club. The show couldn’t even happen without the incredible efforts of the Salinas Classic Chevy Club.

This Year’s

BEST OF SHOW


	Check out our 2004 event ....




		Over 130 participants entered cars in the event with a total of over 400 people in attendance. The weather held out in our favor and a good time was had by all - many asking us to guarantee a repeat performance next year.


	Automobile vendors and sponsors played a major roll in the success of the day and there was certainly no shortage of awards for participants!








			“Forest”, always the ladies man...


Entertainment for kids and adults included fire engine and helicopter rides, a horseshoe and sand volleyball tournament, a back hoe agility contest (compliments of Pault T. Beck Contractors), face painting, dance demonstrations, a live radio remote (compliments of Ron Stevens and Wolf House Radio Group), music, BBQ, and LOTS OF ANIMALS compliments of Wild Things and EARS. All things said and done, the event raised over $10,000 for EARS and a GREAT time was had by all. We are all ready planning next years events and working out the bugs from this year's to make 2005 even more SPECTACULAR!!!


		Special thanks to John and Janis Waltman for lending us their 1953 Fire Engine for all to enjoy...





	Special thanks to Jim Cheathem for his time, talent and HELICOPTER!!!