Thunder on the Lot is a huge annual event that attracts car and motorcycle enthusiasts from all around, for one common goal… to help children in need. In the last 19 years, the Thunder on the Lot event has raised more than 3,000,000 dollars for children’s charities. Every year, tons of motorcycles, hot rods, lowriders, and drift cars roll in to put on a show that generates a huge amount of money for many children and organizations in need.
We were there mainly for coverage of the drifting exhibition, but really felt that we needed to hit the rest of the show to see how many people came out for the children. Thunder on the Lot has been working closely with The Kids Charities of the Antelope Valley since 1994, bringing in over 3.2 million dollars that go directly to charities and children of the Antelope Valley.
One of the MANY wonderful charities that I was drawn to was one called Royal Family KIDS. Royal Family KIDS is an organization that takes foster children that suffer from abuse, neglect, and abandonment, and sends them to camp. I was told that this summer, Royal Family KIDS is sending 78 foster children to camp, absolutely free of charge. At camp, children engage in activites such as arts and crafts, fishing, swimming, boating, woodworking, etc.
From the Royal Family KIDS Facebook page, “We are the nation’s leading network of camps, clubs and mentors for children of abuse, neglect and abandonment. Most of us have experienced an encouraging word or kind gesture when we were at our deepest low, and we know how life changing it was. Since 1985, we have lifted children from the deepest pits of despair and given them hope that they can take one more step toward a better tomorrow and a brighter future.”
Having 3 children of my own and struggling daily to be a good father and role model for them, it touched me that there are people and organizations like these that care about children, especially kids that have nobody that cares about them…and unfortunately it happens.
The main purpose of the event is helping children, but everybody is there to have a good time. There is something for everyone, including hundreds upon hundreds of motorcycles like these I found at the end of the show in one of the covered pavilions.
The lowrider guys come out with their gorgeous old school cars, bringing their entire families and having a get together that resembles a Sunday cruise to the local park.
As you walk around, you will find all kinds of cool cars, like this Cadillac I would not mind rolling around in myself. I like old sleds like this.
Being an event for charity, Thunder on the Lot is an excellent place to bring your entire family for a day out on the grass. The little ones can even get their first taste of car culture.
There is no shortage in delicious things to eat at Thunder. Many specialized food vendors such as these guys with grills and smokers setup to heat up enough BBQ for everybody.
When I say delicious, I mean delicious. I threw this photo in to tease all our reader’s taste buds.
Will Roegge and Joshua Herron from Keep Drifting Fun would agree this VW Bus is a rad setup, totally worthy of another road trip and a second KDF film 🙂
Cars everywhere! There are several halls at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, and every single one of them were filled with cars or some sort of entertainment for this event.
If you’ve seen enough life sized cars for the day, there are even train displays setup in one of the halls. I wish my kids were with me to see this. It would have blown their minds!
Oh you know, just some little people sitting on a bench while some little guy plays guitar. I thought this town setup was very cool.
Oh, enough of the random car stuff? You came here for drifting of course.
This year’s drifting exhibition was brought to you through hard work by Mickie Frial and crew. Pictured above, Paul Lopez, Ron Emard, Mickie Frial, and Matthew Yoakum. Ron Emard and his wife are responsible for making the entire Thunder on the Lot event happen. Also, big thanks to all the selfless volunteers who worked the course and kept everything running safely and smoothly.
Ive done enough talking about everything other than drift cars, so here are a couple hundred photos for our readers to sort through and download. We had an excellent time, and hope to see you at Thunder on the Lot in 2014. We will be there! Enjoy the gallery!
