In case you missed it, the Chitown Subarus Big Meet was held on April 28th. We drew a record crowd at the DeVry campus in Addison, IL. Over 650 Subarus, 1,000 people and 50 dogs gathered together to start the season off right!
The line to get in. | Photo credit: Mike Foss
Special guests, VIP and car show participants arrived early. We had some enthusiastic members show up early too, and in no time the lot started filling up with Subarus!
Many members brought their dogs to the Big Meet. | Photo credit: Nick Sylvester
In addition to hundreds of Chitown Subarus members, the Big Meet gathered Subaru clubs from around Chicago and surrounding states. Car clubs in attendance included MtnRoo Midwest, Northwest Indiana Subaru Owners (NWISO), South Side Subarus, Fl4t Society, Chitown 86, Chitown Foresters, Gateway Subies, and more. Many attendees were members of multiple groups.
Photo credits: Rico Dadivas, Mike Foss
Once parked, members could roam the expansive lot to check out all the cars and clubs, but many quickly made their way to the CTS tent. The merchandise table was packed all day! It was a joy to see so many members wanting to show off their Chitown Subarus pride. Shirts and stickers were the hot items. Hats and lanyards were available in limited qualities. Two handmade blankets were for sale too.
Next to the group tent was a raffle drawing, stocked with some really cool items donated by our generous sponsors. The raffle table was made possible by Dave and Busters, DirtFish, Fortune Auto, K1 Speed, and Stroud Built.
$500 off labor and a one-off skateboard deck were the hot raffle items. | Photo credit: Mike Foss
In short, the day was filled with making new friends and catching up with old ones.
In case members got hungry, we had a food truck on site. The line for The Cookout on Wheels was long all day. Too long. The food truck sold out of most of their menu! We planned for 400 cars and 600+ showed up. In short, we could have used another food truck.
The line for the food truck was long. Too long. | Photo credit Mike Foss
For the first time ever, the Big Meet included a car show. All 40 spots were sold out a week before the event. Entries ranged from fully prepped rally cars to 86s scraping the ground with their wide body kits. Below are some of the unique cars that attended the Big Meet. (Includes show cars, VIPs and standard attendees)
The car show winner. Connor Algier and his turbo Rocket Bunny FR-S represent Vaded Mob. | Photo credit: Rostik Krysko
The winner of the car show was Connor Algier with his red turbocharged Rocket Bunny Scion FR-S. (Note: The FR-S, Toyota 86s and certain Saabs are considered honorary Subarus by CTS. If it has a boxer motor, you're in the club.)
The successful day ended with the raffle drawing. In the end, everything ran smoothly.
From all of the admins of Chitown Subarus, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who attended (especially our sponsors), DeVry University for graciously hosting us, and the Addison Police and Fire Departments. It was a pleasure to put on this event. We look forward to doing it even bigger and better next year!
Here's to many more years of bringing the community together.
Video courtesy of Nick Sylvester