Spring finally decided to show up this weekend which gave me the opportunity to attend three shows. One as a participant and two as a spectator.
The weekend started with a trip to Marysville on Friday evening to participate in the Creative Towing/Advanced Auto cruise-in. This is a small monthly show held on the second Friday of the month from March through November at the Advance Auto Parts store in Marysville, Ohio. The show usually attracts between 10 and 20 cars. Trophies are given out to the top three favorites.
UA CITIZENS POLICE ACADEMY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
The Kingsdale Center was my first stop on Saturday for a visit to the 1st Annual UA Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association show.
The show took place in the parking lot around the former Macy's Department store.
For a first time event that wasn't heavily advertised (I just happened to discover the show's flyer on OhioCarShows.com), it managed a good turn out with 92 registered vehicles.
If you read my post, What Makes a Good Car Show, you'll find that a good mix of cars is one of the ingredients I list that make for a successful show. This show had that in spades with a nice selection of vintage cars all the way to the exotic European models.
A Ferrari LaFerrari is about as exotic as you can get.
Food trucks from Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Giant Eagle provided nourishment for the show goers.
There was the usual 50/50 raffle, door prizes, and a drawing for a chance to drive a Tesla all-electric SUV for a day.
Trophies for the top 10 "Favorites" and a "Best in Show" were presented.
"Best in Show" went to a 1948 Buick Roadmaster owned by Scott Trogolo from Milan, Ohio. This is my first time seeing a Roadmaster and all I can say is wow!
Here are a couple of the "Favorite" winners.
All in all, the sponsors did a good job for their first show. If there's any advice I would give them for next year's show, it would be to advertise the event on Old Ride.comand give out a couple of awards to the newer cars.
SPRING FLING ALL CORVETTE
Next on the agenda was a drive to Quaker Steak and Lube on Polaris Parkway for the Spring Fling All Corvette show.
This show is an annual event hosted by the Chosen Few Corvette Club of Columbus and Cleveland. It attracts Corvettes from all over the country.
Saturday saw 280 cars from as far way as Texas register for the show. Promoted as an "All Corvette" show, I was surprised to see a few 5th generation Camaro participating in the event. Both sides of the Quaker Steak and Lube parking lot were filled with cars.
Most of the Corvettes were from the two most recent generations. I was struck by the number of owners that had installed "Lambo" door kits on their cars.
Carlyle Racing brought one of their high performance Corvettes.
Here are a few cars that grabbed my attention as I walked around the show.
This Camaro was aptly named the Bat Mobile and came complete with an air brushed Batman hood liner
If there had been an award for best presentation, it would have gone to Nasty Red.
AWARDS
The club presented 100 "Favorite" plaques along with specialty awards for "Sponsor and "Manager" Choices, and long distance awards for individual and club. Six-foot trophies were awarded to the in-state and out-of-state Corvette Clubs with the most participation. The Sponsor and Manager awards were selected by representatives of Coughlin Chevrolet of Pataskala and Quaker Steak and Lube.
Here are some of the Corvettes that received a "Favorite" award.
The long distance individual award went to Nasty Red who traveled 1138 miles from Spring, Texas to attend the show. Long distance club went to the Wave out of Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
The Bat Mobile took the Sponsor's award for Camaro.
"Manager's Choice" for Corvette went to this beautiful white 1959 classic owned by Jerry Galbraith.
Greg White from Memphis, Tennessee and his 2014 Stingray received the "Sponsor's Choice" award for Corvette.
The Capital City Corvette club received the trophy for most in-state participation, and the Chicago Crossroad Corvette club won the out-of-state participation award.
One thing I've noticed is that club participation among Corvette owners is strong and this show reinforced that observation. The show was well-organized and everyone seemed to have a good time. Passing out more than 100 awards in less than one hour was no small feat. I'm definitely marking my calendar for this show next year.
NEXT WEEKEND'S SHOWS
Saturday (5/20) looks to be a busy day for shows in Central Ohio. The Empty Pockets Cruisers will be holding their 3rd annual Armed Forces Day Car Show in Hilliard, Ohio. The Chrysler Power Classic, Car Show and Swap Meet will going on all weekend at National Trail Raceway. Grove City has three shows scheduled for Saturday. Scout Troop 382 will be holding their Central Ohio Cruise-In in Centerburg, Ohio, and if you're looking for something to do in the evening, there's the monthly cruise-in at the Burger King in Marysville, Ohio.
I'm planning to attend the Centerburg show and maybe the cruise-in at Burger King.
Until next time, I hope to see everyone out there cruising.