On Saturday, I attended the Blendon Senior Center Car Show in Westerville, Ohio. This was my third time participating in the show. Last year I praised it for being one of the better, small shows in the area. It has the usual door prizes (this year it gave away two televisions) and 50/50 raffle. There's always a DJ spinning tunes and announcing door prize winners. Food is available in the senior center cafeteria for the cost of whatever you feel like donating. This year free root beer floats were added.
In the past, the show has presented 25 "Favorite" awards, a Best of Show and runner-up Best of Show. This year the organizers decided to change things up and divide the vehicles into categories based on model year. The categories were 1940
The show registered a total of 79 cars. The two largest categories were the '60s with 28 cars followed by the '80s and newer with 21 cars. Twelve of the '80s and newer cars were above the year 2000. The majority of those were Corvettes. The smallest category, no surprise here, was the 70's with only seven cars. I think everyone will agree the '70s was not exactly Detroit's best decade.
What surprised me the most was not a single car above the year 2000 received an award. -- not even a 3rd place runner-up. The 2000 and newer cars could have been a category unto themselves. Especially when you consider there were only seven cars in the '70s and nine cars in the '40s and below categories.
If the show organizers decide to do categories again next year, let's hope they make a few tweaks. I would suggest either combining the '70s and '80s and making the final category '90s and newer. Or a second option would be to combine the '70s, '80s, and '90s and make the final category 2000 and newer. Either choice would balance out the categories a little more evenly.
Now that I've said my piece, let's get on with the award winners.
1940's and older
3rd Place Runner-up
1928 Ford Model A
Owner: Mark McGlove
2nd Place Runner-up
1947 Buick Roadmaster
Owners: Scott & Kelly Briley
1st Place Runner-up
1940 Studebaker Commander
Owners: Rodney & Linda Daniel
Category Winner
1912 Franklin M/6.30
Owner: Rand Patterson
1950s
3rd Place Runner-up
1955 Ford Crown Victoria
2nd Place Runner-up
1953 Corvette
1st Place Runner-up
1956 Chevy Bel Air
Category Winner
1958 DeSoto Firedome Sportsman
Owner: Rod Scott
1960s
3rd Place Runner-up
1968 Pontiac GTO Convertible
2nd Place Runner-up
1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442
1st Place Runner-up
1966 Ford Mustang Fastback
Category Winner
1960 Chrysler 300
Owners: Neal & Janice Thomas
1970s
3rd Place Runner-up
1971 Plymouth Duster 340
2nd Place Runner-up
1970 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible
Owner: Rick Levine
1st Place Runner-up
1975 Cadillac DeVille
Owner: Dan Varner
Category Winner
1970 Chevy Chevelle
1980s and Newer
3rd Place Runner-up
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT
Owner: Darrel Kestner
2nd Place Runner-up
1997 Chevy Corvette
1st Place Runner-up
1984 Buick Riviera
Category Winner
1983 Hurst Oldsmoble
This is the second show in the past week that didn't include the car owner’s name on the window plaques. The other was the Powell show last Sunday. Where I knew the car owner, I included their name with the photo of their vehicle.
Columbus Cars and Coffee Arena District Meet
Columbus Cars and Coffee held their second meet of the month in the Arena District on Sunday.
The streets along the south side of Nationwide arena were closed from 10 AM to 12 Noon for the meet. At its peak, I counted more than 150 cars and trucks on display. There was also a large crowd of spectators.
Coffee and refreshments were provided along with "live" music.
What I love about these Columbus Cars and Coffee meets is the opportunity to see all kinds of vehicles. Nowhere else will you see a $200K McLaren 570S, alongside a 1970 Olds 442, and a Volkswagon camper. It's like being a kid in a candy shop for anyone who loves something with an engine in it.
Here are some more vehicles from the meet:
A little video of cars coming in and being directed to parking.
All in all, it was a fun morning. The Arena District on a Sunday morning is a great venue for a car show. The Columbus Cars and Coffee volunteers did an excellent job directing cars in and out of the area. My only complaint was the lack of rest room facilities. Sometimes that morning coffee goes right through you.
Other Area Shows and Cruise-ins
Der Dutchman:
A 15-minute shower dampened attendance at Der Dutchman Thursday evening.
After the rain passed, the rest of the evening remained dry. A total of 39 cars eventually showed up. Most of them arriving after 6 PM.
The Madison County Jr Fair Special Interest Ambassador made a visit to the cruise-in.
Just a reminder that the Cruise-in is shooting for a goal of 300 cars on September 12 so mark you calendars.
Full Throttle Car Show
I received some very positive feedback about the 6th Annual Full Throttle Car Show at the Dairy Freeze in Mount Sterling, Ohio on Saturday.
The show registered 70 cars. According to my source, all the cars were properly judged and it was a great group of people to hang out with.
Tee Jays West Broad
Tee Jays on West Broad Street in Columbus, Ohio had 40 cars turn out for it's monthly show.
Culp Lake
The show at Culp Lake in Springfield, Ohio registered 145 cars on Sunday.
The Shankles received a pair of Top 15 awards for their 1936 Plymouth and 1971 GTO.
That's it for this week. Next weekend is Labor Day weekend and the start of football season. From here on out my Saturdays will be spent either at Ohio Stadium or in front of a TV. Sunday shows will get most reporting for the remainder of the season.