Farina family gears up for annual car cruise, instrument drive on McCandless Community Day

The Frank J. Farina Jr. Memorial Car Cruise, a favorite stop for those attending the McCandless Community Day on Sept. 13, will be parked at the Ashton Commons Senior Living off Blazier Drive from 3 to 6 p.m.

The site is just down the road from Town Hall on Grubbs Road, where the Community Day celebration will take place.

The annual car cruise will feature a large tent and seating in the open area, with food and beverages available as well as live music by American Pie, according to Frank Farina, son of Frank J. Farina Jr., who was a music director for several schools in the Pittsburgh area, including 26 years at North Allegheny as chairman of the music department and band director.

Guests also can purchase tickets for basket raffles and a 50-50.

Ashton Commons is providing plenty of parking for the car cruise patrons, and overflow will be directed to the PRT lot, Farina said. A shuttle will run throughout the event to and from Community Day, while making stops at the car cruise.

“But, most importantly, this is also an instrument drive for our foundation. With the help of our good partner, Brighton Music, those donated instruments will be accepted, refurbished, sanitized and placed back in the hands of needy children in our region and the over 250 underserved music programs in Southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond,” Farina said.

All instruments, except for pianos and organs, are accepted for the Farina Foundation’s Play-It-Forward program.

Last year, the foundation accepted, refurbished and distributed more than 1,000 instruments and materials throughout 2024.

The car cruise featured more than 100 cars along with numerous instrument donations, he said.

“The Farina Foundation and those donors are impacting so many underprivileged families in our communities. We all can help to change lives ‘one note at a time,’ ” Farina said.

The elder Farina was a McCandless resident, and all four of his children attended the North Allegheny School District, Farina said.

For details about the foundation, visit farinafoundation.org.