On Sunday, Riverside Park in Ypsilanti will play host to more than 400 cars, including hot rods, street rods, and muscle cars. Vintage military vehicles also will be on display for the guests of honor — military veterans.

The event is the 33rd Ypsilanti Area Street Rods Show & Shine Car Show, and the theme this year is a salute to veterans for their contributions and sacrifices in service to the country. There will be a color guard posting the colors of all branches of the military to begin the event at 9 a.m, and it will close at 4 p.m. with the playing of Taps.

Tom Bauld, a member of the Ypsi Area Street Rods club, works as a biomedical engineer at the Veterans Healthcare Administration at the National Center for Patient Safety in Ann Arbor.

"I've grown in my personal appreciation and become a fervent advocate for veterans," said Bauld. "My work contributes to their getting safer care all over the country."

Bauld says veterans will have free admission to the event. Recruiters will be at the show in hopes of signing up volunteers for the V.A. Ann Arbor Medical Center.

"We see veterans from WWII to the current conflict," said Beverly Leneski, director of volunteer services at the V.A. Ann Arbor Medical Center. "We are looking for volunteers to escort patients, to staff our information desk and to help with recreational programs."

Ed Florence is a Vietnam Veteran who has been volunteering at the V.A. Ann Arbor Medical Center since 1998.

"I used to get day-old baked goods and took them to the hospital for patients," said Florence, a 30-year cancer survivor who lost a leg to the disease. "Now I run bingo games. Being a veteran myself I can tell you the creed for the Veterans Administration is to help other veterans, their widows and their children."

"Honoring veterans at the car show Sunday shows them how much we appreciate them," said Leneski.

In the past, the Ypsi Area Street Rods club has assisted community organizations including Visiting Nurses, Boysville, Dawn Farms, and last year, SOS Community Services.

The club began in 1974 when a group of "hot rodder friends" held a benefit to raise money for a child with muscular dystrophy.

"It was a success, and they decided to form the club and charter it as a charitable organization," said Bauld.

Car owners from all around Southeast Michigan and northern Ohio as well as club members provide the cars on display, which will include a custom hearse, flame throwing cars, a 1937 Ford Coupe, a 1950 Mercury and a 1995 Mustang built by a Washtenaw Community College student. Admission is $2 for spectators.