MOPARS are coming to Myrtle Beach

If you like looking at classic and modern muscle cars, having fun at family oriented events and helping other people, Coastal Carolina MOPARS is offering a great opportunity to do all of that with MOPARS at the Beach, a four-day charity event on August 11-14.

Cathy Bridges, whose husband, Tommy Bridges, is president of the club, said MOPARS are any vehicle made by Chrysler, Plymouth, Fiat, Ram, Jeep or Dodge. In the past, MOPARS at the Beach has been operated for profit by someone no longer involved. The club made it a 501 3c non-profit working to help the community.

Cathy Bridges said all money raised over the cost of the event will be donated to Quilts of Valor and Teach My People.

The four-day schedule of events begins on August 11 at 9 a.m. with a Meet and Greet at Cheeseburger in Paradise, 7211 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach. On the 12th, they will meet at 8 a.m.at Lincoln Park off U.S. 17 Bypass in Surfside, to get their first p0ker chip for a ride to Tabor City, N.C., where they will have lunch at the Todd House and dessert at Daddy Joe’s Creamery before going to La Belle Amie Vineyard in Little River to enjoy live entertainment and wine tasting. This ride is open to all vehicles, including motorcycles.

On the 13th, the big event is at Inlet Square Mall in Murrells Inlet, where they expect to have over 400 vehicles, local artisans, thousands of raffle items, games for children, a dj, prizes and much more. .

Joan Wobbleton, director of Shorebird Quilters and the Myrtle Beach chapter of Quilts of Valor is expected to have a display of the quilts set up there. Since Tommy Bridges, a Vietnam veteran, had received one of those quilts, he and Cathy said they knew how special they are and that is part of what made the club decide to raise money for Quilts of Valor.

f you go, you might want to take some food to donate to the Lowcountry Food Bank, which always needs food to help people who might be hungry without it. Brian Moore, the food and fund drive coordinator for the Lowcountry Food Bank will be ther to accept it.

Eric Spatz, the executive director of Teach my People, located in Pawley’s Island, will also be set up there. After retiring from 40 years of teaching, Cathy Bridges taught for Teach My People for two years, and is very aware of how important that program is.,

According to its website, “Teach my People provides year round high quality, organized programs that are spiritually driven and ‘no cost’ to our families. Through the expertise of our highly trained and educated staff, along with the loving support and dedicate for at-risk children on of over 70 community volunteers, we are able to provide academic assistance, character development, cultural and spiritual enrichment, and physical activity daily to ensure that our students succeed in school and succeed in life.”

The mission of the quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts of valor.

This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "MOPARS are coming to Myrtle Beach."