The central Ohio car show season kicked into high gear this weekend. There were shows in no less than seven area cities. These cities included Bellefontaine, Bucyrus, Columbus, Dublin, Marysville, Newark and Reynoldsburg. I have reports from three of the shows.
Creative Towing/Advanced Auto
Friday evening I made the drive to Marysville for the monthly Creative Towing/Advanced Auto cruise-in. Thirteen cars turned out this month.
Awards were presented to a '69 Mustang, a 2016 Camaro SS, and high-compression stroked Nova. 
Immaculate Conception Parish Car Show
I didn't participate in the Immaculate Conception Parish show but I stopped by to check it out.
The parish is located at 414 E. North Broadway in Columbus. This is the second year for the show which is held in the parking lot behind the parish. There was music, a 50/50 raffle and five awards. I did not see anything in the way of food or refreshments. The show attracted 46 vehicles.
The "Best Paint" award went to this 1948 Chevy pickup owned by Mark and Patty Enyart.
Jeff Ison's 1980 Camaro Z28 received the "Best Engine Compartment" award.
This '56 T-Bird owned by Ralph Springes took the "Best Interior" award.
The "Cutest" award went to Mark and Debi Garrett's 1961 Volkswagen Beetle.
And finally, the "Best of Show" award went to the 1966 Corvette Stingray of Fred Davis.
On The Rocks Spring Car & Bike Show
I spent Sunday at Karric Square in Dublin, Ohio for the annual On The Rocks Spring Car & Bike Show.
The show attracted 131 registered vehicles. There were quite a few vehicles that showed up but did not register.
This is my fifth year participating in the spring show. The last few years the show has seem to become very "Corvette centric". Not only is there a special award for "Best Corvette", but this year 18 of the 60 "Favorite" awards plus Manager's Choice award went to Corvettes. This favoritism towards the Corvettes has put off a lot of classic car owners because of the perception that you have to own a Corvette to have a chance at an award. I have several friends that refuse to participate in this show for this very reason. This is a shame since the show is generally well-organized and raises money for a good cause.
My first recommendation to bring back those folks that have quit participating would be to eliminate "The Best Corvette" award. Change it to a "Ladies Choice" award. If the award is to continue, then add special awards for "Best Ford", "Best GM" and "Best Mopar". I would also re-evaluate the judging system in order to spread the "favorite" awards among more vehicles. Having almost one-third of the awards go to one specific model is a real "turn-off" to many show participants. I think these two changes alone would be enough to bring back some of the folks that have left.
Ok, now that I got that out-of-the-way, let's get on with the report from the show.
Dan Varner brought another one of his "Survivor" vehicles. This time his 1970 GTO with 15,000 original miles.
First time to see a Lotus Exise S240 in person.
The Brutus-Mobile was a Buckeye fan favorite.
I don't think this was the stock engine in a '54 Chevy 210.
Here's a "walk-around" video from the show.
The Awards
As I mentioned before, there were 60 "Favorite" awards and five specialty awards. The specialty awards included Best Engine, Best Paint, Manager's Choice, Best Corvette, and Best of Show.
"Best Engine" went to Charlie Cunningham and his '55 Chevy.
Ron Rush and his 1967 Pontiac GTO won "Best Paint".
"Manager's Choice" Went to Frank Deering's Corvette.
Craig Grinkemeyer and his 1967 Corvette received the "Best Corvette" award.
And the 1964 Pontiac GTO of Ron Cozzo won "Best of Show".
A nice breeze off-set the warm temperatures and provided good weather for the show. This brought lots of spectators. With a few tweaks, this show could push attendance to the 200 car level like it did a few years ago.
This Week's Events
Here's what I've found going on around the area for this week.
Tuesday:
- Rock 'n Roll Cruise-in at Ruby Tuesdays - Powell, Ohio
Thursday:
- Weekly cruise-in at Der Dutchman restaurant - Plain City, Ohio
- Wholly Joe's Summer Cruise Nights - Lewis Center, Ohio
Friday:
- Friday Night Cruisein' at Jack Maxton - Columbus, Ohio (Note: This is a Chevy only show)
Saturday:
- Earth Angel Super Cruise-In car & motorcycle show - Lancaster, Ohio
- Our Nation Under God Cruise In - Reynoldsburg, Ohio
- Danville Ohio Turkey Festival Car Show - Danville, Ohio
- Pep Boys Carnival of Cars 2017 - Columbus, Ohio
- Auto Smarts Radio Cruise and Ride - Columbus, Ohio
- Cruisin' with the King in 2017 - Marysville, Ohio
Sunday:
- Father's Day Cruisin - Springfield, Ohio
- Whitehall VFW Post 8794 Cruise In - Whitehall, Ohio
- Cruise the Fort (Classic Car Show) - Columbus, Ohio
The weather looks a little stormy for the weekend. I'll definitely be at Jack Maxton's Friday evening weather permitting. Look for a report on the show for next week. Until then, I hope to see everyone out there cruising.
I quit going to the Corvette show on the rocks too and I even have a Corvette!
What made you quit going? Attendance has steadily dropped over the past two years. I spoke with some folks at the Maxton show last night and they said they won't be back. It's a real shame since the show raises money for a good cause. Last Sunday it was the only show in the Columbus area. Should have been pushing close to 200 cars.
If this was an all Corvette show I wouldn't have a problem going but it's not! When I was there several years ago all the new Corvettes seem to have won most of the trophies, and what I saw was most of the judges were the owners of the Corvettes. It's a shame because the show raises money for a good charity. I have seen a lot of nice cars other than Corvettes that deserve trophies at that show!
Great website! Randomly came across it while trying to find car shows around Columbus. Super helpful. Thanks for taking the time to put it together. What were your thoughts on the Lotus? Full disclosure, I have a little bit of a vested interest...
Thanks for the kind words about the web site.
The Lotus clearly caught my attention which is why I posted a photo of it to the website. After seeing dozens of first gen Camaros, Mustangs and Chevelles, it's really refreshing to see an unusual and rare car.
You are welcome.
Glad you liked it. I didn't realize the show was going to be mostly classic cars, but it was still fun. Hopefully I'll see you around at a show.