Following the success of the inaugural Lewis County Autism Coalition Car and BMX Show last summer, the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis is preparing to host the second annual show on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The museum is located at 100 SW Veterans Way in Chehalis. The show once again is being organized by both the Lewis County Autism Coalition and the Cornerstone Center for Development in Centralia.
This time, aside from classic and custom automobiles along with vintage BMX bikes on display, adoptable dogs from Red Rose Animal Rescue will be at the museum for the next Operation Pet Adoption event, according to a social media post by the museum.
“Fast cars, forever homes. Drive home with a new best friend!” the Veterans Memorial Museum stated in the post.
According to Veterans Memorial Museum Executive Director Chip Duncan, around a dozen dogs from Red Rose Animal Rescue will be at the car show for attendees to meet and spend time with.
This is the third Operation Pet Adoption event the museum has hosted. The adoption events were the brainchild of Kristi Popenoe, a peer counselor at Veterans Journey Forward, a nonprofit focused on helping veterans with counseling and navigating benefits that also operates out of the museum.
Popenoe held the first event last December with the intention to hold the event quarterl throughout the year. The second Operation Adoption event was held in February as previously reported by The Chronicle, and saw 11 dogs get adopted after nine animals were adopted during the first event.
The second annual Lewis County Autism Coalition Car and BMX Show will also feature food trucks, a mobile coffee stand, ice cream, live music and more. Trophies will be awarded for best in show and other categories.
Aside from benefiting any furry friend lucky enough to find a forever home during the event, the show also benefits the Lewis County Autism Coalition’s Spectrum and Development Community Center, which is currently under construction, according to the nonprofit’s website, with the goal of opening it in Napavine later this summer.
“The center is being designed as a hub of community resources, individual and family engagement, caregiver and provider education, health equity and maybe most importantly, empowerment,” the Lewis County Autism Coalition stated on its website.
This project is a collaboration between the Lewis County Autism Coalition and Lewis County Pediatrics and Family Medicine.
Once completed, it will house Lewis County Pediatrics and Family Medicine staff providing formal autism evaluations, along with therapy rooms for local licensed speech, occupational and behavioral therapists to rent, employment support services for those on the autism spectrum, a technology and art empowerment hub to help teach digital literacy and artistic skills and more.
Registration for the second annual Lewis County Autism Coalition Car and BMX Show is $20 per vehicle. To register or for more information, call 360-870-7912.
To learn more about the Lewis County Autism Coalition’s Spectrum and Development Community Center, visit https://www.lcautism.org/sdcc.
For more information on the animals currently available for adoption through Red Rose Animal Rescue, visit http://www.redroseanimalrescue.org/ or follow the rescue on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RedRoseAnimalRescue.
