Function 4 Junction

On the Saturday of Function 4 Junction, hundreds of vehicles fill downtown Junction City, Oregon, and stand all day for the Show ‘n Shine, from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. Cars, trucks, and motorcycles share the streets with food booths, face painting, raffles, bingo, and live music. Awards are given from the main stage at 3 P.M., at Sixth and Greenwood. The event runs rain or shine. The 2027 weekend is set for June 4 and 5.

Two cruises and a swap meet

The weekend opens Friday evening with the All Years Cruise, open to every make, model, and era, from 6:30 to 9:30 P.M. Drivers check in beforehand at the lot at Sixth and Deal, across from Bi-Mart. On Saturday the show cars come in by a set route: north on Front Street from First Avenue, west on Second, then north on Greenwood. They park there for the day. After the awards the Saturday Night Classic Cruise runs from 6 to 9 P.M. It is limited to vehicles of 1979 and older, with no four-wheel-drives and no motorcycles.

The car season starts earlier, in April, with a swap meet the association calls its season opener. It offers parts, projects, and neighbors at the southeast corner of Highway 99 and First Avenue. The 2026 swap was held Saturday, April 18, from 8 to 4. Shoppers paid $3 at the gate with a food donation to Junction City Local Aid, or $5 without one.

Costumes and judges at Fourth and Greenwood

Each year’s costume contest draws on the styles of the 1920s through the 1980s. Contestants register in the early afternoon by the stage at Fourth and Greenwood. Trophies and prizes go to best in show in five categories: Traditional, Modern, Family or Couples, Best Match Your Car, and Most Creative Match Your Car.

The 2026 contest, on May 30, had two judges. Nancy Gregg was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. Her family came to the United States in 1970, opened a sub shop in 1971, and moved the business to Eugene in 1980. She ran her own restaurant, Cedars Cafe Mediterranean Food, from 2003 to 2008. She came into the classic car scene when she met her husband, Dale, in 1990.

Shirley Sutton is the mother of five, grandmother of seven, and great-grandmother of one. She has been married to Bob for 56 years. They started Inkwell Print Shop in 1993, sold it to QSL printing in 2016, and still work there part time. In 2018 they bought a 1968 El Camino, and they take short trips with the Top Flight Cruisers, a local group of friends who share a love of cars.

From the football field to downtown

The money goes, in the association’s words, “4 the Children, 4 the Schools & 4 the Community.” That means youth programs and scholarships, education across Junction City, and town projects. Donations also pay for permits, safety crews, and signage. The Function 4 Junction Association is a 501(c)(3) led by volunteers under President Corrie Lucas, and its board plans the weekend year-round.

Its IRS filings list the officers without pay:

• Robert Bell, president and CEO
• Lisanne Dickenson, secretary
• Jeryl Chambers, treasurer in the latest return
• Sarah Fay, treasurer in earlier returns

The 2025 return shows $35,366 in revenue against $38,573 in expenses. Cause IQ’s summary of the filings gives the purpose as “to create an event for classic automotives, hotrods and street rods.” Net proceeds above a yearly reserve go to charitable, educational, or philanthropic organizations the board selects.

The association traces its roots to Oregon car culture, “from the River Road Cruise in Eugene to today’s Junction City tradition.” Its photo galleries begin with 2005, and its returns on ProPublica reach back to fiscal 2007. ProPublica gives March 2022 as the date its current tax exemption was issued.

The event was earlier called the Function 4 Junction Cruise-In. Its website at the end of 2008 announced a May 30, 2009 edition in a town “midway between Corvallis and Eugene in Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley.” There, the site said, “the small town of Junction City drops its Scandinavian heritage and historic background to host this annual family event.” It promised over 300 classic cars and hot rods. The Show ‘n Shine then began at 8 A.M. on the Junction City High School football field, and the cruise began at 6 P.M.

By 2018 the show had moved downtown and the weekend ran three days, June 1 to 3. The Friday cruise was then for vehicles of 1975 and newer and ran on Highway 99 between First and Seventeenth streets, with registration in the Bi-Mart lot. On Saturday, show entrants registered on Greenwood between Fourth and Fifth. Watching cost nothing, and the night cruise was for 1974 and older.

A Sunday winery poker run, for those 21 and over, sent players to five local wineries: Pfeiffer, Brigadoon, Bennett, Walnut Ridge, and Benton-Lane. Players drew a card at each one to build a poker hand. The listing named Dan Alley as contact.

A crash in 2022, a neighbor in 2023

On Saturday evening, June 4, 2022, during the event, a motorcycle and a truck collided in Junction City. KEZI reported that three people were taken to the hospital, none with major injuries. Police believed the crash was accidental and were still determining whether alcohol played a role.

The 2023 weekend, June 2 and 3, set aside the usual beneficiaries. Its proceeds went to the medical bills of a Junction City man whose stroke had left his body mostly paralyzed. KEZI’s reporter wrote that with “nary a cloud in the sky,” downtown would still “rumble with thunder.” The Saturday cruise that year was for 1974 and older. The costume contest was judged at 2:15, with categories for kids under 15, women, men, couples or families, and match your car.

Lauri Brownson and her husband drove up from Shady Cove in their Nash Metropolitan for their first Function. “It’s not an event we’ve attended before, and we know it goes to a good cause,” she said, “so we’re going to try another venue and drove up from Shady Cove, Oregon to come check it out.”

The 21st annual Function 4 Junction opened May 31, 2024. Organizers told KEZI they expected roughly 10,000 people to watch and take part.