Vendor and food booths fill George Park on May 29, 2021, during the Echo Car Show. This year’s event is May 18, 2024, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Echo.

ECHO — The town of Echo is rolling out the welcome mat this weekend with the Echo Car Show and an open house at the historic St. Peter’s Catholic Church.

Organized by the Echo Parent-Teacher Organization, the annual car show is shifting into gear a week earlier than in past years. The event revs up Saturday, May 18, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Echo. Vehicle check-in starts at 9 a.m. Other activities include vendors and crafts in the park, food booths, raffle items and live music.

The Automobile Club of Echo started the event more than a decade ago with a small car show on the school’s football field. Driven by its popularity, the car show cruised to downtown Echo and expanded to include student fundraisers, arts and crafts vendors and food booths.

The Echo PTO began coordinating the car show in 2019. The 2023 event featured 115 vehicles and raised more than $7,000 for a scholarship fund, the PTO’s holiday Santa Shop and other extracurricular activities.

With more than two dozen categories, all makes and models are eligible for entry into the show, including divisions for motorcycles and works in progress. Registration is $30 per class. Special trophies, created by industrial arts students, will be awarded around 2 p.m.

For more information, search Facebook via bit.ly/44IKKxr. To register in advance, visit bit.ly/3QpUWoE. For questions, call 541-376-8436.

Heritage association opens doors to historic church

The Echo Heritage Association continues to work on the restoration project of the old St. Peter’s Catholic Church. De-consecrated in 1996, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places Aug. 28, 1997.

An open house is Saturday, May 18, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 33208 Marble St., Echo. Admission is free.

At 11 a.m., Doris Pitzer will perform selections on the church’s 120-year-old pump organ. According to a press release, the Hermiston woman has played throughout the region, including for weddings, funerals, church services and school events. EHA President Phyllis Shovelski said Pitzer is known for her “warm style.”

The building was constructed in the Portuguese Colonial Revival style in 1913 and features a distinctive stucco façade. The interior houses ornate statues and a faux marble altar. Visitors can learn more at 11:45 a.m. as Father Daniel Maxwell, of Hermiston’s Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church, leads an interpretive tour.

“There is always beautiful symbolism adorning a Catholic church,” Shovelski said. “Pastor Maxwell is very well versed in the intended significance of the items in St. Peters and will be giving us insight into these uniquely historical symbols.”

For more about the Echo Heritage Association, search www.echoheritage.org. For questions, contact echo.heritage@gmail.com or 541-303-5730.