The Bee Cave Bee

The Hill Country Rolling Sculpture Car Show will return for the ninth year on January 15, 2017.





Between 150 and 200 collector cars, sports and exotics, modern classics, hot rods, art cars, and other motorized eye candy will be parked along the streets of the newly renovated Hill Country Galleria in a celebration of automotive style in all of its forms.



The show benefits the Bee Cave Public Library through paid sponsorships and show car registrations. All proceeds from the show benefit the Friends of Bee Cave Public Library, a 501c3 nonprofit corporation that supports the library through fund-raising, advocacy and volunteering. Over the past eight years more than $45,000 has been raised. This money allows the Library to purchase special items or offer special programs that enhance and expand their services to the community.



The original Rolling Sculpture Car Show was started in the 1990s in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Bob Elton, a Detroit automotive stylist. Bob got permission from the City of Ann Arbor to barricade off a block of Main Street for what was intended to be a one-time car show. In contrast to most car shows, Bob’s vision was to welcome anyone who thought their car was “rolling sculpture” to bring it out and share it with the patrons of the downtown district’s shops, restaurants and bars. The Ann Arbor show has become an institution, covering a dozen blocks and drawing hundreds of cars of every imaginable type and thousands of spectators. Every year, the show benefits a local charity through sponsorship and entrance fees.



When car-enthusiast Dean Mericas relocated from Michigan to Austin in 2007 and drove through the newly-opened Hill Country Galleria, he saw an ideal setting for a Texas version of the Rolling Sculpture concept. With the support of the Galleria management, and the Bee Cave Public Library as the designated charity, the first Hill Country Rolling Sculpture Car Show opened its gates on the last Sunday of October, 2008.



Since then, the Hill Country Rolling Sculpture Car Show has become an institution in Bee Cave, with collector, classic, and special interest cars, trucks, motorcycles and even bicycles lining Hill Country Boulevard and its side streets. It’s a special event for car enthusiasts and patrons of the Galleria’s shops, bars, restaurants, and multi-screen theater.



The Rolling Sculpture Car Show is free to the public, and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. As always, the focus is on fun and a common passion for everything automotive. There will be live music during the event, with trophies awarded at 2:00 p.m by the show’s sponsors according to themes they’ve selected. For example, Rolls Royce Motorcars of Austin will present a trophy to the entry they pick as the “Best Rolling Sculpture.” Other trophy-level sponsors this year include Ben Archer State Farm Insurance, FIAT–Alfa Romeo of Austin, Elite Wellness Chiropractic, Broadway Bank, Hagerty Insurance, and Lennar Corporation. Additional partners include Kwik Kar Automotive and McDonalds Bee Cave.



“The Rolling Sculpture Car Show has been such a benefit to us,” said Library Director Barbara Hathaway. “There are never enough funds to meet all the needs of a library growing as fast as Bee Cave’s. The funds raised by the Car Show have helped to underwrite new programs and equipment beyond the scope of our city budget. Last year, for example, the Friends of the Library purchased high-quality podcasting equipment that our teens used to create book trailers and other podcasts to help market library programs and events. In 2017, funds raised by the car show will help underwrite the purchase of new soft seating and mobile shelving as we reconfigure the interior of the library to make it more inviting and welcoming to families and children.”



To register a vehicle to show, http://www.rollingsculpturecarshow.com.

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