PERU – Car enthusiasts came out in force Sunday to the eighth annual Peru School 8th Grade Car Show.

There were more than 130 entries in 16 classes, from pre-war era to the latest in custom designs.

While enjoying hot dogs, ice cream and cotton candy, hundreds of visitors and contestants strolled around the school sports field picking their favorite cars and trucks. They also took part in a pie auction, bake sale, 50/50 raffle, and a Chinese auction with dozens of items donated by local families and businesses.

The show was put on in order to help raise money for the eighth grade’s annual trip that takes place at the end of each school year. “This is our biggest money-maker,” said eighth-grade advisor Jeff Mayo, adding that he expects the show to bring in more than $3,000.

This spring, 28 eighth-grade graduates and around 10 chaperons will take a few days to enjoy themselves and learn something special. Mayo said that the students have not decided where they want to go yet, but past trips have been to such places as Boston and Quebec. The money raised Sunday will go toward transportation, lodging and tickets to museums and other activities.

Organizers of the car show say that this year’s show was the biggest and best yet, with entries from all over south central Maine and New Hampshire.

Frank Burgess believes he knows the reason that the Peru show has grown in popularity. “More and more people hear about us, and they hear that we put on a good show,” he explained. “We have trophies for first-, second- and third-place in each of the 16 categories, and we really try to show the people how much we appreciate them coming out.”

Burgess and his wife, Gloria, both members of the Auburn-based Knucklebusters Antique and Classic Motors Club, helped to organize the first Peru show to benefit their granddaughter’s class. While many of the responsibilities for putting the show together change as each class graduates, the Burgesses are still active in making the show a good one.

This year Pat Gillman and her husband, Gary, who took over a lot of the organizing, gave a lot of credit for the show’s success to the parents and to the kids themselves, many of whom manned the food stalls and ticket counters. “The parents have been absolutely wonderful,” she said, “and this class has really worked hard. They’re great!”