When Classic Cars Become Lifelines: The ChromeFest Story

Chrome isn't just shining in Pilot Point this August—it's serving a higher purpose. 

Beneath the gleaming hoods and polished fenders of the vehicles at ChromeFest lies a powerful story of community connection. My conversation with Cindy Ferris, affectionately known around town as "Mama C," reveals how a grassroots car show that began in 2016 has transformed into a lifeline for homebound seniors across northern Denton County.

ChromeFest (Saturday, August 30th, 8am-1pm) started as a simple gathering organized by Grace Nazarene Church and local car enthusiasts. Today, it's directing 100% of its proceeds to Meals on Wheels, which delivers daily nourishment to seniors who can no longer drive or prepare meals themselves. But as Cindy passionately explains, these deliveries provide far more than food—they offer crucial wellness checks and often the only human contact recipients receive all day. The volunteers notice when someone doesn't answer their door, following up to ensure their safety with the care and persistence of family.

The program extends beyond home deliveries to include congregate meals at the Pilot Point Community Center, where seniors gather for social activities, games, and companionship. As part of SPAN (transportation services), Meals on Wheels also helps seniors reach medical appointments and even delivers pet food monthly through their Senior Paws program.

What makes ChromeFest's partnership with Meals on Wheels so poetic is the symmetry: vehicles that once represented freedom and independence for many seniors now help support those same individuals when driving is no longer possible. Between admiring classic cars, enjoying live music from New Beginnings, watching the Bearcat Band perform, and cheering on the police vs. fire department tug-of-war, visitors contribute directly to their neighbors' wellbeing.

Cindy's parting wisdom captures the heart of volunteering: "You will get much more out of it than you give." Join us at ChromeFest to celebrate both automotive history and community compassion—or consider becoming a volunteer driver yourself. Your time could become someone's lifeline.

Transcript

Welcome to Crossroads Podcast

Steven Killfoil 0:04

Crossroads Podcast. We'll be right back, but those who want to be in the know, who's your daddy? Good morning, Cross Roads. Welcome back. Friends. This week we are going to discuss the voices of Pilot Point. I'm your host, Steven Killfoil, and today we're cruising back into a conversation that has equal parts of horsepower and heart. I am excited to welcome back a very special guest who's been on our show before and is deeply involved in our community and helping to make this year's ChromeFest the most meaningful one yet Cindy Faris. Cindy, welcome, and thank you so much for joining today.

Cindy Faris 1:48

Thank you, Steven. That's almost the same amount of applause I get at the coffee house or at city council meetings. This is a topic I love talking about and I'm thrilled to share with what's happening in my hometown.

ChromeFest History and 2024 Event Details

Steven Killfoil 2:14

Well, let's start talking about Chrome Fest. She's real fine, my 409. She's real fine, my 409. She's real fine, my 409, my 409. Well, I saved my pennies and I saved my dimes. Giddy up, giddy up, 409. Before I knew there would be a time Giddy up, giddy up, 409 when I would buy a brand new 409. Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up, 409. Giddy up, giddy up, 409. Nothing can catch her, nothing can touch my 409, 409. Ooh, giddy up, giddy up, ooh, giddy up, giddy up, ooh, giddy up, giddy up, ooh, giddy up, giddy up. One of the most beloved events in Pilot Point. For our listeners who might not know, give us the back story on how did ChromeFest come to be.

Cindy Faris 3:41

Absolutely. Chromefest began as a grassroots idea from a group of car lovers and local leaders About 2016,. Grace Nazarene Church was reopened in Pilot Point and Pastor Dwayne Edwards moved into town. These folks wanted to find a way to bring some people together, celebrate the history and beauty of classic cars and boost tourism in the downtown square. The first Chrome Fest was pretty small just a handful of cars, a local band and a few food vendors, but the response was huge. People loved it. It's grown every year since, with hundreds of vehicles. This year, I think Dwayne said they had 100 plus vehicles that'll be on display and they've had thousands of visitors coming from across Texas.

Steven Killfoil 4:36

And it's more than just cars, right, it's music, food trucks, vendors, a real family-friendly vibe.

Cindy Faris 4:47

Exactly, it's turned into a celebration of small time sorry, small town charm and a big time show feel. Let me just give you the highlights off their poster Chromef est, car Show and Community Event. August 30th from 8 am to 1 pm that's a Saturday on the Pilot Point Square. They're going to have food trucks, live music by New Beginnings, giveaways, Bearcat Band and Cheerleaders live and silent auctions and to top it all off, and to top it all off, a police and fire tug-of-war.

Steven Killfoil 5:26

That sounds like a lot of fun.

Cindy Faris 5:28

Oh yeah, I enjoy that tug-of-war.

Steven Killfoil 5:32

Who do you root for?

Cindy Faris 5:34

Both sides.

Steven Killfoil 5:35

Both sides. Okay, there you go.

Cindy Faris 5:38

I love them both.

Steven Killfoil 5:38

That's kind of like when they have the Oktoberfest and have the little wiener dog competition.

Cindy Faris 5:43

Yeah.

Steven Killfoil 5:44

You've got to root for all of them.

Cindy Faris 5:45

That's right, can't pick out one wiener dog.

Meals on Wheels: History and Impact

Steven Killfoil 5:48

There you go, and what makes it extra special this year is where all the proceeds are going to something truly important Meals on Wheels in Denton County. This covers Pilot Point, Aubrey, Krugerville, Cross Roads, Providence Village, Paloma Creek and Savannah. Let's shift gears and talk a little bit more on Meals on Wheels. Many people know the name, but not everyone understands just how vital it is, especially in rural communities like ours. Can you share a little bit about its history, Cindy?

Cindy Faris 6:28

Sure Meals on Wheels concept started in the UK during World War II to help people affected by the Blitz, and it came to the United States in the 1950s. Our local Denton County office opened, I believe, in 1974 or 76 and has been serving the community here since then. The idea was simple deliver hot meals to homebound seniors and those with disabilities who can't cook or shop for themselves. In Denton County and in this area of our county, meals on wheels has become an essential service. We serve dozens of clients right here in our area out of the pilot point community center is where the meals are delivered, monday through friday. And it's not just food that gets delivered, it's daily contact that is so important to people who are homebound. Volunteers go to the home, knock on the door, ring the doorbell, check in with those homebound folks, offer a smile, some conversation and make our seniors feel safe and cared for our seniors feel safe and cared for.

Cindy Faris 7:46

If you don't mind me just talking for a Steven About, a couple of times where they have arrived and people didn't come to the door, we call them. If they don't come, then we call back to the office and we talk to the person who's in charge that day and they try and call and if they can't get them they do call either the office or, if their contact person is listed, we can call them and say, hey, your mom or your dad isn't opening the door today. Is there something that we don't know? Maybe they didn't call us and tell us they were going to a doctor's appointment or something. So we're very concerned with these people and we do everything we go out of our way to make sure that they're safe inside their homes before we walk away.

Steven Killfoil 8:41

That's amazing. That is so powerful. Sometimes that knock on the door is the only human contact someone gets all day.

Cindy Faris 8:53

Exactly. It's not just a meal being delivered, you know, hopefully a nutritious meal that they enjoy eating. It's a moment of connection between two human beings and I can't tell you how much that matters. I also want to talk a little bit about congregate meals. So a lot of people don't know about our congregate meals.

Cindy Faris 9:16

So at the community center at 11 o'clock, monday through Friday we serve a congregate meal and a congregate meal is for people who are not homebound. They have to be 60 to get a free meal and they can come to the community center and sit there and have a meal, a congregate meal, in other words, they get to congregate with other people, have conversations, have some social life. So all of the community centers or wherever they're served that are doing the congregate meals, they have programs. So if you're going to Little Elm, you may have an exercise program that day In Pilot Point where all the meals come out of that. They're delivered to us from the Denton office and when they come out there people can come in exercise on certain days, come and do crafts, play cards, play dominoes, play games.

Cindy Faris 10:17

Certain days, come and do crafts, play cards, play dominoes, play games, and then, you know, at 11, we'll serve the meal and then they can go back and play dominoes or cards or whatever they feel like doing. So it's a way of getting people who are still able to get out but maybe don't have quite enough social life. You know, maybe they don't have any relatives that live right here in town, so it gets them out. And I can't tell you. We have, you know, a group of women who get together Monday through Friday. It's not all the same every day, you know it'll grow from 10 of them to four, but they come and every day enjoy coming and having a meal together and playing cards or dominoes. So it's it's great and you know we love having them that's.

Steven Killfoil 11:07

That's an oh, that's wonderful. So let's make it a little personal for a moment. How did you get involved with Meals on Wheels?

Cindy Faris 11:17

Well, I was retired and I was doing volunteer host work out at Isle de Bois Park at Lake Ray Roberts, and I was also coming into town and doing some volunteer work for the Chamber of Commerce with Denise Morris and she told me about the Meals on Wheels program at the community center, and so I went over and I talked to Tammy and she put me to work right away. So I started driving back in 2015 and delivering to the Aubrey-Krugerville Cross Roads area, and I did that for about a year and a half until I no longer was at Ray Roberts. I moved to a different lake as a host and so then, when I decided after a bunch of a couple of years that I was going to move back to Pilot Point, I, through a group of concerned citizens, we got together and we reopened the community center and serving Meals on Wheels and Meals on Wheels hired me as their site manager, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it as their site manager.

Cindy Faris 12:38

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Congregate Meals and Community Connection

Steven Killfoil 12:45

Well, that's a touching story and for folks listening, if they want to volunteer or if they ever know somebody who could benefit from Meals on Wheels, how do they contact the program, either locally or in Pilot Point?

Cindy Faris 12:56

Okay, well, we do have a sign-up process. So if they want to get someone who is, let me explain who can qualify to get our homebound meals. The person has to be 60 years old. They also are not able to drive anymore, so they have to be 60, and homebound is what we consider that. They can reach us at the office number at 940-382-2224, or the website is wwwmowdc. org, and they will call you back and get some information and then an assessment is done to decide that you qualify, that person qualifies for this service and then, um, at some point they'll be put on a roster for whatever area they live in.

Cindy Faris 14:02

Now, this is only for Denton County. Each Meals on Wheels has its own in each county. So, um, if you want to volunteer to become a driver and deliver meals for the homebound, I would appreciate you calling me and letting me know, and then I'll let the office know. The training is on the second and fourth Fridays at 10 am at our Denton office and you can reach me, Cindy Faris, and that last name is F-A-R-I-s at 972-838-3259.

Cindy Faris 14:40

Um, if you're in a different area than then, um north of 380, and we go all the way out past the lake towards um sanger and we go all the way to all of the housing additions that are along 1385. So we go to the east side and if you're still in Denton County, if you're in Prosper, we do deliver to there too. So we have a very large territory and we always need drivers. So if you're interested you can sign up for us. If you're in any other area, just call that 940-382-2224 and tell them that you're interested in coming to the training and and and what area that you live in, so that they'll know where to assign you later.

Steven Killfoil 15:31

Well, let's bring this around full circle. This years Chrome fest is giving 100 percent of its proceeds to support Meals on Wheels in Denton County. Yeah, that's incredible.

Cindy Faris 15:58

It really is, and I just thank my stars and my God every day that the organizers decided this year that the event should honor Meals on Wheels and that it was a perfect fit. Every dollar raised, whether it's from vendor fees to T-shirt sales, to sponsorships, it's going straight into feeding and supporting our seniors in our own backyard. And I need to just touch base with you one more second about something else about Meals on Wheels. We don't stand alone.

Cindy Faris 16:39

We are actually a division of SPAN, s-p-a-n, which stands for our transportation services. So if you are a senior and you qualify, then you can get rides to doctor's appointments. You do need to call in advance and get yourself signed up, and then you do need to call in advance to sign up for a specific date. I think they need at least two weeks in advance to get you into a seat on one of our vans. So we also have that. But we have a third program too, and that is our Senior Paws program, where we deliver food once a month to people in need that have pets in the home, and since they can't get to the grocery store and those bags are heavy, we bring the food to them for their pet, either a dog or a cat, no, horses, pigs et cetera.

How to Volunteer or Qualify for Services

Steven Killfoil 17:50

I was about to say what about horses. Sorry.

Cindy Faris 17:54

You just have to eat the grass in your yard.

Steven Killfoil 17:56

Load a bale of hay up there in the back of the truck, okay, okay. So when you come out to Chromefest this year, you're not just admiring some beautiful machines, you're fueling a mission. You're helping a neighbor eat, smile and feel seen.

Cindy Faris 18:20

That's right. We're not just fueling those things, we're fueling the whole body and it's a chance to have fun and give back. We're hoping the community really shows up for both because, again, this is not about Pilot Point. This is everything from the county line north of Pilot Point all the way through the county, so anything in the county. This is going to benefit, but me specifically. I'm trying to raise that money so that my seniors have the benefit of having food on their table.

Steven Killfoil 19:04

Absolutely, and we have a few of them that show up on Tuesdays at sessions. They're sweet folks. Yes, we do yes we do, definitely, definitely we won't name any.

Cindy Faris 19:15

Oh yeah, we won't name any names. No I started to say her name, but we won't name it.

Steven Killfoil 19:20

They just have a very favorite song about a Mustang Sally.

Cindy Faris 19:24

Yeah

Steven Killfoil 19:26

All right. Well, as we start to wrap up, Cindy, what would you say to someone who's never attended Chromefest or volunteered with Meals on Wheels?

Cindy Faris 19:40

Well, as far as Chromefest, I'd say come out once and you'll probably be yeah, stuck on it, yeah that would be a good way.

Cindy Faris 19:49

You know, the cars are beautiful. I can't. I mean, there's so many different colors of cars too. It's like looking at a jewel out in this parking lot area. You know, the blues, the reds, the yellows. They're truly beautiful cars and I'm not I'm not a car aficionado, but I enjoy just walking around and seeing how people have fixed these old timers up and what they look like. And, and you know, I can't say enough about the colors. That it's just, it's beautiful.

Steven Killfoil 20:22

Oh, yeah, definitely

Cindy Faris 20:24

As far as volunteering, it takes a little time to make a huge difference. Even one delivery a week can brighten a life, and I guarantee it'll brighten yours. You will get much more out of it than you give.

Steven Killfoil 20:42

Absolutely. I remember growing up, when my mother and father first got married, the first car that they had was an old 1956 Chevy Bel Air.

Cindy Faris 20:55

I had that car. That was my very first car.

Steven Killfoil 20:57

Beautiful car Aqua, blue and white.

Cindy Faris 20:59

That was my car.

Steven Killfoil 21:01

It was amazing.

Steven Killfoil 21:02

Yeah, then about 1969, dad, mom bought their first brand spanking new car. It was a 1969 Comet GT and that thing was as blue as the sky and as fast as good Lord. I mean, the thing was fast and it was the old three-column shift.

Cindy Faris 21:24

Oh yeah, I remember those.

More Than Food: SPAN and Pet Support

Steven Killfoil 21:25

One of my cousins actually wound up getting that car and that's the one he drove around in high school and then when I got into high school I had an old 66 Ford Fairlane. Uh, it was a lot of fun and and fast and those cars just these kids nowadays have no idea. They'll never know the pleasure or feel of punching the pedal to the floor and feeling that G-force as that horsepower kicks in and just pulls that car up to an amazing speed.

Cindy Faris 22:00

Well, maybe if we start a bike fest in Pilot Point or here in the area, maybe they'd feel it if they got on

Steven Killfoil 22:10

Well, they tied a rope to the bumper and let them pull it.

Steven Killfoil 22:12

Yeah, they could.

Cindy Faris 22:13

Yeah,

Steven Killfoil 22:15

I think the parents might be a little apprehensive about that, but

Cindy Faris 22:20

And, if you don't mind my telling you, there's a few other things coming up in Pilot Point that people might be interested in. You've been involved in this. The theater at Pilot Point Community Opera House

Steven Killfoil 22:33

Absolutely.

Cindy Faris 22:35

Our next play is called Death Trap and it's going to be at 7.30 pm on September 12th and 13th, 19th and 20th those are Friday and Saturdays and then at 2.30 pm on Sunday, the 14th and Sunday the 21st. On 9-27, which is a Saturday, we have Oktoberfest coming up, big celebration there, and then on Saturday the 11th of October we have our famous Bonnie and Clyde days and then, you know, in December we'll have Christmas on the Square. Oh, I forgot, we also have Scare on the Square in October.

Steven Killfoil 23:23

Oh, yeah,

Cindy Faris 23:24

yeah, we can't forget that.

Steven Killfoil 23:26

Well said, all right folks. October oh yeah. Yeah, we can't forget that. Well said, all right folks. Chrome fest Pilot Point Saturday rolling into , August 30th, from 8 am to 1 pm. Mark your calendars, bring your friends and remember that every dollar raised supports Meals on Wheels of Denton County. If you can't attend, consider donating or signing up to volunteer. All the info is at the M-O-W-D-C dot O-R-G or call what's your number, Cindy

Cindy Faris 24:01

972-838-3259.

Steven Killfoil 24:06

Call

Upcoming Pilot Point Community Events

Cindy Faris 24:07

Or you can call the main office at 940-382- 2224.

Steven Killfoil 24:12

There you go.

Cindy Faris 24:15

Well, I hope to see everybody on the square. I know I'll see you, Steve,

Steven Killfoil 24:21

Definitely,

Cindy Faris 24:22

And I will be manning a table or walking around. You know talking to the crowds, as I always do. You know, I do have a new nickname in Pilot Point.

Steven Killfoil 24:35

Oh, what's that?

Cindy Faris 24:35

Mama C,

Steven Killfoil 24:36

Mama C,

Cindy Faris 24:37

Mama and C for Cindy, yeah, okay. So I've kind of, you know, gotten so many children that have, you know, either adopted me or I've adopted them, and so now I'm Mama C and come hungry, bring your camera and be ready to be inspired by those cars and by donations.

Steven Killfoil 24:58

Well, thanks again, Cindy, for joining me today and thank you, listeners out there for tuning in. This is Steven Killfoil reminding you to stay connected, stay compassionate and keep supporting the people who make our town great. Until next time, take care, and we'll see you at Chromefest and I'll see you at the top! Crossroads Podcast. For those who want to be in the know, who's your daddy.