Skip to content

Labor Day Weekend: Two Car Shows and a Football Game

I managed to get two car shows and a football game in over Labor day weekend. I also got a little wet on Sunday.

Zucchinifest Car & Motorcycle Show

I started the weekend off with the Zucchinifest show on Friday evening at Fortress Obetz in Obetz, Ohio.

This was my first trip to the stadium. I failed to read the directions to the complex posted on the Festival's website and instead relied on Apple Maps to get me there. Big mistake! Apple maps insisted I enter the stadium from Williams Road, however, the Williams Road entrance was temporarily closed. The only way into the stadium was from the Alum Creek Drive entrance. Between Friday rush hour and holiday traffic, construction on I-71, and driving up and down Williams Road for 20 minutes, it took almost an hour to get to the stadium when it should have taken a little more than 30 minutes.

Once parked and my blood pressure back down to normal, Fortress Obetz turned out to be a pretty nice venue for a car show. The amusement rides and food vendors for the Zucchini Festival were setup in the parking lot outside the stadium while the car show took place inside around the main bleachers.

The show was hosted by Dan "Boots" Longenette and the Auto Smarts team. The final registration number was 125 vehicles. I probably counted another 25 cars that showed up but didn't register.

Two of the cars that didn't register belonged to our good friends, Jeff and Pam Shankle. On the drive over from Milford Center, Jeff's 1971 Pontiac GTO decided to snap a bolt on the alternator bracket. Jeff and Boots displayed a level of mechanical ingenuity never before seen at a car show to secure the alternator so Jeff could make the 40 plus mile drive back home. I'm not sure but I think a little chewing gum might be stuck in there.

The Awards

The awards presentation was originally schedule for 8 PM. The opening band for the main attraction, Warrant, starting playing at 7:30 PM. The music was so loud, there was no way Boots could yell the names of the winners above the music.

As a result, the award presentation was delayed roughly 30 minutes until the band finished their set thus making the presentation happen in the dark.

Auto Smarts Picks:

Bike Trophies

Top 20

Best Import

Jegs Pick

Favorite Rat Rod

Boot's Pick

People's Choice

Mayor's Choice

Council's Choice

There were two Best of Show awards because the Ohio Machine Lacrosse team signed a contract with Auto Smarts Radio at the beginning of the season to purchase the trophies. After suspending operations for the 2019 season, the club still honored their contract to buy the trophies.

Best of Show (Ohio Machine Lacrosse Trophy)

Best of Show (Zucchini Festival Trophy)

Dublin Rotary Club Classic Car Show

On Sunday, the Dublin, Ohio Rotary Club A.M. held its first-ever classic car show.

The Club reserved the Darby and Upper Indian Run parking lots behind the J. Liu Restaurant for the show.

Vehicle registration was $10. There were door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. All proceeds from the show went to the Dublin AM Rotary Charitable Foundation which supports local charities and community projects.

Jason Nester DJ'd the event. Jason had, in my opinion, one of the best playlists I've heard all season. As you know, by this time of the year I'm just a wee bit tired of hearing '50s and '60s music. It was refreshing to listen to some different songs that were a little more current.

Unfortunately, halfway through the show rain decided to spoil what was turning out to be a pretty good first-time event.

Even though the awards were moved up an hour because of the weather, about two-thirds of the 112 cars that registered for the show had gone home.

The AWARDS

The Rotary Club presented trophies for the Top 30 picks along with six sponsor trophies and a Best of Show.

Here are the Top 30 Winners:

Motorcycle Award

Import Pick

Sponsor's Picks:

WoodHouse Day Spa (two picks)

Johnson's Real Ice Cream

Shannan Stover Allstate Insurance and Toy Barn

ACHAFR Rotarians

Best of Show

Final Thoughts On the Show

You may have noticed that six car owners, myself included, received multiple awards. This is a big "no, no" in my book. Number one, it's a good way to alienate owners so they don't come back next year. And number two, it's kind of embarrassing for the person receiving more than one award. At least it is for me.

I spoke with one of the Rotary Club members after the show and strongly suggested they coordinate their judging next year so that it's one trophy per vehicle. I told him the more they can spread the "trophy love" the more likely their show will grow in attendance.

The other issue, which I'm sure we could debate for years, is the act of being present to receive an award. Some feel that those who stuck it out during the two rain showers should be rewarded for their perserverance. Personally, I can see both sides of the issue. It's hard enough to judge. Having to redo the award list because some cars left early only complicates matters. Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Anyway, I'll cut the Rotary Club some slack on both issues since it was their first show. The positives definitely outweighed the negatives.

Other Area Shows and Cruise-ins

Der Dutchman had another big Thursday Evening. The Cruise-in in Plain City, Ohio registered 200 cars. An amazing 34 of the 200 were first-timers to the cruise-in.

The cruise-in is starting to attract a higher-class of cars. In attendance this week was a 2018 Jaguar R, a Rolls Royce, a Bentley, a 2000 Porsche 911 and Ferrari. Throw in a 1963 split-window Corvette and a Chevy S-10 pickup with a tri-five Bel Air paint scheme and you've got quite a mix of cars.

Our good friend, Frank Sanborn, unveiled his new to him Plymouth Fury at the Cruise-in on Thursday.

And finally, the cruise-in is shooting for a goal of 300 cars on September 12. That's just one week from this Thursday. If you're free that evening, come on out to Der Dutchman and set a record.


Cruisin' For Children at the Buckeye Ranch was moved this year to Ashville Park in Ashville, Ohio because of construction at the Buckeye Ranch.

The show registered 147 vehicles. A red pickup truck from the Dayton area took the Best of Show award.


More than 200 cars turned out Saturday for the 13th Annual Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum's Classic Car Show in Bellevue Ohio.


The 2nd Annual Mechanicsburg, Ohio First Responders Car Show registered 204 cars on Saturday.


Jeff Shankle and his 1936 Plymouth Business Coupe took a Top 20, Pastor's Choice, and Best of Show awards on Sunday at the 17th Annual River Rally held at The River Church in a Barn. The church is located just north of Delaware, Ohio on Route 42. The show registered 62 cars this year.

Not sure what was in the air on Sunday, but it seemed to be the day for cars to receive multiple awards.


And Finally, a couple of friends made the drive over to Springfield, Ohio for the inaugural Ohio Masonic Home Car Show. Dick "Hot Dog" Ryman was the show's DJ.

My friends said there were close to 300 cars at the show. Very impressive for a first-time event.

The show gave out 50 "Favorite" trophies along with some custom made special awards.


Whew! That's it for this week. These four day Holiday weekends are a killer when it comes writing up a report. If you have any information on the Canal Winchester or West Jefferson shows, please feel free to post it in the comments section.

Next weekend looks to be another big one for events with all the first of the month shows and cruise-ins on tap. Look for another long report next week.

12 thoughts on “Labor Day Weekend: Two Car Shows and a Football Game

  1. jeff shankle

    GREAT JOB KIM and yes I was a little embarrassed to win Multi awards as well.THANKS again KIM for a GREAT report

  2. Matt Rittenhouse

    We were also at the River Rally on Sunday and I won Top 20 and People's Choice. I agree that it was a little embarrassing to win multiple awards when there were a good number of really nice cars there. That being said, it was still a fun show...until the rain arrived just as everyone was leaving.

    1. Kim Hawksworth

      If you notice, one of the banners on the home page is from the River Rally. I attended the show from 2015 through 2017. The 2015 show had specific church members judge the cars. The show turned to people's choice judging in 2016 and 2017. I stopped attending after 2017. I didn't like fighting the long, wet grass clippings. And the lack of shade was another negative. Last two years I attended shows much closer to home.

      We got rained on twice at the Dublin Rotary show. Fortunately, it stopped before the show was over. Nothing worse than driving home in the rain.

      1. Matt Rittenhouse

        I'm assuming they must have gotten complaints about the grass in the past because the pastor came around to introduce himself and mentioned they tried their best to get as much of the grass picked up as possible. It wasn't terrible, but I definitely would have preferred the show cars parking on the pavement.

        1. Kim Hawksworth

          Well, at least they recognize the grass clippings are an issue. I don't know how Der Dutchman does it. I was told they cut the grass every Thursday morning if it's not raining. In the six years I've been going to the cruise-in, I don't think I've brought a single blade of grass home with me.

  3. Dj Simpson

    Kim...
    I attended another show Sunday, not the River Rally. I highly suspect many left the Rally show upset and will not return cause of the multi winners. I for one would not return and had I received 3 awards I would have walked back and returned one and insist it go to the next runner up. There are way too many cars out there that deserved to get an award and never got one.

    1. Kim Hawksworth

      I completely agree with your last sentence. As I wrote in my report, spreading the "trophy love" ensures that people will come back to your event the next year.

  4. Lou Charobee

    Thanks Kim for covering the Dublin AM Rotary car show. I appreciate the comments and criticisms.
    It’s always good to get an unbiased opinion and we will take them into consideration.
    You did a great job of photographing and listing the winners. I had forgotten about the double-trophy issue and ironically criticized other shows in the past for doing the same. Lou

    1. Kim Hawksworth

      Thanks Lou! I think the ingredients are in place for a darn good event each year. Just need to clean-up the multiple award issue.

      1. Dwight Seeley

        Kim,
        I am a past president of the Rotary Club of Dublin AM. Thank you so much for reviewing our show and for your advice regarding the trophies. Here's hoping you and all those who participated in our inaugural event will come next year and bring their friends.
        Dwight

        1. Kim Hawksworth

          My Pleasure. I think the Dublin Rotary car show demonstrated lots of potential for a first ever event. Just need to work out the double award issue.

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: