Car Show to Benefit Assn. for Retarded

An advocacy group for the mentally retarded hopes to turn love for hot rods into jobs with the 37th annual Autumn Fest.

The festival, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday in North Hills, will feature 50 classic cars and raise funds for the New Horizons program of the San Fernando Valley Assn. for the Retarded, said John Chu, the group’s director of marketing.

Chu said funds raised during the event go toward training and finding jobs for people with Down syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities.

“We’ve helped a woman in her late 30s who had never worked in her life put a resume together and get a job stocking in a supermarket,” Chu said. “Now she works in the deli making more then some of our staff. That’s the kind of thing this funding allows us to do.”

More than 5,000 people are expected to attend the festival, with 60 vendors selling food, drinks and games, Chu said. Admission is free, but profits from concession sales at the event will go to the Valley Assn. for the Retarded, he said.

New Horizons will close a section of Parthenia Street between Haskell and Aqueduct avenues for the car show. For more information, call (818) 894-9301.