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Following a brief pause in 2021 due to COVID-19 — the only other hiatus occurred during World War II — the Syracuse Auto Expo will be holding its 113th show at The Oncenter’s Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center Thursday through Sunday.

Sponsored by the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association, the auto expo was first held in 1906 and is one of the oldest auto shows in the country. The event will feature hundreds of vehicles covering 135,000 square feet of the convention center floor, as well as live entertainment and refreshments for guests.

“It’s a true community event,” said Dee Perkins, the marketing and public relations director for the show.

For Perkins, the most rewarding part of the show is having the opportunity to walk through the different floors and catch a glimpse of the various central New Yorkers attending the expo.

“There aren’t a lot of events that are affordable for families of all different economic straits, so the show is really a slice of central New York people,” she said.

The expo will be open on Thursday and Friday from 4 to 9 p.m., Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission to the show is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors, $3 for children ages 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Families will also have an opportunity to purchase four tickets for $20 on Sunday, as part of the Expo’s Family Fun Day. Veterans, first responders and military personnel will have free admission on Thursday.

The event will follow state COVID-19 guidelines, including mandatory mask-wearing and requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test from guests.

This year, the expo will be hosting many of the major U.S. auto manufacturers and their latest vehicles. One of these new models is the all-electric BMW i4 M50. Toyota will also be displaying its newest mini-SUV, the Toyota Corolla Cross.

“The best is the luxury area in the war memorial … (Those cars) really light up people’s eyes,” Perkins said.

Attendees will have the opportunity to test drive the Cross and other Toyota vehicles around downtown Syracuse through the manufacturer’s Toyota Drive Center program, which will also be returning to the expo for its fifth year.

“I do it every year. It’s one of my favorite parts of the show,” Perkins said. “I find it totally amusing that you get to drive their new cars around Syracuse on a snowy day.”

The 2022 Syracuse Auto Expo will feature some of the country’s most prominent auto manufacturers and their latest vehicles. Courtesy of Dee Perkins

On Wednesday, the expo hosted its 23rd Annual Charity Preview event, which included a formal dinner and first look into the vehicles on display for attendees. Tickets were $150 and proceeds went to 14 central New York charities, including David’s Refuge and Make-A-Wish Central New York.

The auto expo said in a press release that it hoped to raise $350,000 for participating organizations this year. The self-proclaimed “best party in town” has raised over $4.1 million dollars for local nonprofit organizations since its inception.

Kate Houck, the executive director of David’s Refuge, has been attending the charity preview since 2015 — when she first started working with the organization — and said it is not an event that can be replicated.

“We’ve always had great success with it. Our donors and friends to our mission really love the event,” she said. “It’s a good opportunity to dress up and get out during winter in Syracuse, be able to see flashy cars and have good food and drinks.”

The organization, which provides support to caregivers of children with disabilities, plans to use the funds raised from the event to cover all-expenses-paid respite programs that it hosts, Houck said.

David’s Refuge has also started giving the option for donors to gift a ticket for caregiver parents to attend the preview as another opportunity to engage with the community. This year, Houck said there will be 40 caregiver parents in attendance who are involved with the charity.

As for Make-A-Wish CNY, the nonprofit seeks to use its funds to continue granting wishes for children with critical illnesses in the 15 counties it serves, especially because COVID-19 forced the organization to put many wishes on hold, President and CEO Diane Kuppermann said. The average cost of a wish is approximately $12,000, and the organization hopes to grant a minimum of 55 wishes in 2022.

“I think what people don’t understand is that the timing of the wish is oftentimes equally important to what the wish is,” Kuppermann said. “It changes the narrative around the child and gives them something else to focus on.”

Though Make-A-Wish CNY has been involved with the charity preview for the last 12 years, Kuppermann said she is always honored to have been invited to participate in the event and raise money for the organization.

“In most cases, it’s up to the charity to put on their own event,” Kuppermann said. “The fact that we get to be part of this amazing event and have no out-of-pocket expenses is unheard of.”

Published on February 9, 2022 at 10:45 pm