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Central Ohio Car and Bike Events for July 6 – 12, 2026

Published on 2 Comments on Central Ohio Car and Bike Events for July 6 – 12, 2026
2022 Toyota Supra GR - Owner: Daniel Sabillon

It’s GOODGUYS Week! The largest car event of the year in Central Ohio takes place Friday through Sunday. In addition to the show itself, the weekend will feature after-hour parties, cruise-ins, and the always-popular burnouts that attract enthusiasts from across the region.

Also on this week’s schedule is the Bedell’s Hot Rods Shop Auction on Thursday. And if Goodguys isn’t your thing, don’t worry—there are still plenty of other car shows, cruise-ins, and motorcycle events happening throughout Central Ohio this week.

Monday (June 6th):

Tuesday (July 7th):

Wednesday (July 8th):

Thursday (July 9th):

Friday (July 10th):

Saturday (July 11th):

Sunday (July 12th):

Be sure to check out the Save the Dates for 2026 page for the most comprehensive, best-organized list of upcoming Central Ohio car shows, cruise-ins, meet-ups, and bike events you’ll find anywhere online.

Don’t miss a single event — bookmark it and stay in the loop all season long.

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NEWS AND NOTES

Der Dutchman Cruise-In:

To say the Der Dutchman Cruise-In was a little on the hot side Thursday evening would be an understatement. The best way to enjoy the evening was to find a shady tree to park under and pretty much stay put—which is exactly what I did.

Like the previous week, attendance started out slow but picked up around 6:00 p.m. as temperatures gradually became a little more tolerable. Attendance peaked at 162 cars with 19 of those being first timers.

Even with the summer heat, plenty of enthusiasts still came out to enjoy an evening of great cars and good company at Der Dutchman.

Our good friend, Jeff Shankle, made an appearance after his recent ordeal involving a creek and a zero-turn mower. Fortunately, he’s doing well enough to be back at a cruise-in. Here are some combined photos from Jeff and me. Jeff’s phone suffered some water damage during the accident, so he’ll be getting a new one soon.

American Legion Post #144 Independence Day Car Show:

What started out as your typical C-Town Cruisers Fourth of July car show at the American Legion Canteen Post #144 on South High Street in Columbus turned into quite an event around 1:00 p.m.

Many in attendance heard what sounded like a single firework around 12:45 p.m. At the time, most of us thought little of it. A short time later, Columbus police cruisers began pouring into the area one after another in response to reports of a shooting on South High Street and Cotton Mill Street.

According to Columbus police, officers had responded to a report of a woman being attacked by a man. When officers arrived, the suspect allegedly brandished a firearm and opened fire on officers. Police returned fire before the suspect fled into a nearby wooded area, prompting Columbus police and SWAT officers to establish a secure perimeter around the neighborhood, including the American Legion grounds, while they searched for the armed suspect.

Police later identified the suspect as 41-year-old Michael Magyar, also known as “Machete Mike,” and warned the public that he was considered armed and dangerous. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation responded to investigate the officer-involved shooting.

As a precaution, the car show ended shortly after 2:30 p.m. so law enforcement could secure the area and continue their search. Needless to say, it made for a Fourth of July car show that most of us in attendance won’t soon forget.

As for the show itself, there were 44 vehicles in attendance. Awards were presented for the Top 50, along with special awards for Best Bike, Most Patriotic, Most Potential/Rat Rod, Best Truck, and Best of Show.

American Legion members once again offered a buffet lunch consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, pasta salad, and dessert in exchange for a donation to help cover the cost of the meal.

The Best Bike Award went to Silly Willy and his 2005 Honda Shadow 600 Deluxe.

Steve Anderson’s 1995 Chevy G-20 received the Best Truck Award.

Mike Woods’ 1966 Ford F-100 earned the Most Potential/Rat Rod Award.

Kevin Kelly’s 1975 International Harvester loadstar took home the Most Patriotic Award.

Finally, Doug Mullen’s 1934 Ford Model 40 received the Best of Show honors.

Clintonville July 4th Car Show:

The Clintonville Fourth of July Car Show was another nice event on Saturday. Hosted by the Clintonville Cruisers, the show was part of the community’s larger Fourth of July celebration at Whetstone Park, which also features food trucks, live music, children’s activities, and plenty of family-friendly entertainment.

The organizers preferred to keep the event low-key and didn't heavily market it, which is why it wasn’t included in this week’s list. With about 30 cars typically in attendance, this year’s show registered 32 vehicles.

Awards included five People’s Choice Awards, a Judges’ Choice Award, and a Best Overall Award. Jack Huber’s 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 earned the Best Overall Award. Jack preferred not to have his photo taken, but here is a photo of his award-winning Chevelle.

A big thank you to Bryan Mauger for providing this report and photos.

Dragin' Angels Car Show at Jeffersonville

In honor of the 250th Anniversary of the United States, and sponsored by Jeffersonville and Jefferson Township, the Dragin’ Angel Car Show took place Saturday afternoon at Jeffersonville Park.

Attendance was around 30 vehicles. Awards were presented for the Top 25, along with Best GM, Best Ford, Best Mopar, and Best Motorcycle.

Gary Hamilton and Tom Lawrence each received Top 25 awards, while Rick Jones took home the Best Ford Award.

Here’s a sample of vehicles from the show, courtesy of Tom Lawrence.

Street Elite Car, Truck, & Motorcycle Show:

The Street Elite Corvette Club held its annual car, truck, and motorcycle show Saturday at Foundation Park in Pataskala. Proceeds from the show benefit the Pataskala Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association and the Pataskala Police K-9 Unit.

More than 100 vehicles were in attendance. 63 awards were presented at the end of the show. Janice and Chuck McKeever, Dave and Jackie Hiles, and Dave O’Brien all took home Top 50 Awards. Top award winners were Frank Deering and Jim McGruder with their Corvettes and Rod Scott with his Dodge D100 Sweptside pickup.

Here’s a photo of the veterans who attended the show.

Also pictured are the Hiles’ and McKeevers’ Corvettes along with Zella, an officer with the Pataskala K-9 Unit.

Special thanks to Dave and Jackie Hiles and Rod Scott for providing these photos from the show.

Firecracker Car, Truck, & Bike Show:

No surprise, the 28th Annual Champaign Cruisers Firecracker Car, Truck & Bike Show at Skelley Lumber Company in Urbana was the biggest event on the Fourth of July.

Attendance was down slightly due to competition from other area shows, since the holiday fell on a Saturday, and temperatures that climbed into the 90s. Even so, the show attracted 359 vehicles, making it the largest car show in Central Ohio over the holiday weekend.

One of the cool things about this show is seeing a lot of cars from western Ohio and eastern Indiana that you don’t normally see at Central Ohio events.

Jeff Shankle and Doug Glassburn attended the show and sent along lots of photos. Both also went home with awards. Doug’s award was sponsored by the family of two Champaign Cruisers members who have since passed away.

This year’s Best of Show award went to Steve Wilmoth and his beautifully restored 1966 Pontiac Catalina Convertible.

This video slideshow combines photos from Jeff and Doug and captures why the Champaign Cruisers Firecracker Car, Truck & Bike Show continues to be one of Ohio’s premier Fourth of July car shows.

Independence Day Car Show:

Hosted by the Junction City July 4th Committee, the Juction City Independence Day Car Show took place Sunday at Junction City Elementary School.

Special awards included Mayor’s Choice, DJ’s Choice, 4th of July Committee Choice, Best of Show, Best Motorcycle, Best Rat Rod, three Best GM awards, three Best Ford awards, and three Best Mopar awards. Additional awards were presented to the Top 20 vehicles in both the 1990 and Older and 1991 and Newer classes.

Hi-Way Starz members Dave O’Brien and Jason Kenneth Sanders, along with Dave and Jackie Hiles and Steve Boyer, each went home with Top 20 Awards.

Dave O'Brien
Dave Hiles
Steve Boyer

Chuck McKeever received a Top 20 Award in the 1991 and Newer class for his 2004 Chevrolet Corvette, while Doug Mullen earned one of the Top 3 GM Awards for his 2016 Chevrolet Corvette.

Steve and Nancy Kidwell’s 1965 Pontiac GTO received the Mayor’s Choice Award.

Jeff Tolley, along with Dave and Jackie Hiles, captured a sampling of the vehicles that participated in the event.

Burnouts & Boom!

Besides the Junction City Independence Day Car Show, the only other car show in the area on Sunday was Burnouts & Boom! at Evan’s Family Ranch in New Carlisle.

Jeff Shankle made the 25-minute drive west from the Heart of Ohio Antique Center Cruise-In to capture a sampling of the vehicles in attendance. Jeff estimated the show attracted about 65 vehicles.

I’ll close out this holiday week’s News and Notes with a look at some of the 48 vehicles that stopped by the monthly Heart of Ohio Antique Center Cruise-In on Sunday.

I can’t believe we’re down to just one more holiday weekend this season. Wow! Is it flying by fast.

This week’s roaming reporters for CarShowTalk.com include Jeff Shankle, Doug Glassburn, Dave and Jackie Hiles, Tom Lawrence, Jeff Tolley, Bryan Mauger, and Rod Scott. A BIG thanks to everyone who submitted photos, results, and event information this week. Your contributions help tell the story of Central Ohio’s automotive community and make News & Notes possible.

Have a great week, stay safe and keep those wheels rolling.

Home » Central Ohio Car and Bike Events for July 6 – 12, 2026

2 thoughts on “Central Ohio Car and Bike Events for July 6 – 12, 2026”

  1. Marge Bubner

    Goodguys should have secured a different location for this show because of the construction. Who wants to bring their show car through mud debris and dust? Columbus was our favorite show. We will not return until the construction is finished!

    Reply ↓
    1. Kim Hawksworth Post author

      Hi Marge,

      In an ideal world, I agree—it would have been nice if Goodguys could have found another venue while the Ohio Expo Center is being remodeled. The challenge is finding another centrally located venue in Ohio that’s large enough to handle an event of this size.

      I was at the Expo Center for the Barrett-Jackson auction two weeks ago, and honestly, it looked to be in better shape than it did last year. Most of the construction now appears to be concentrated closer to 11th Avenue. Considering the circumstances, I think both the Expo Center and Goodguys have done a pretty good job managing the ongoing construction.

      Last year was definitely the toughest, with all the newly laid sod, hoses, and sprinklers throughout the grounds. I suspect this year will be much less of a mess. The construction certainly isn’t enough to change my plans—I still plan to attend on Sunday.

      Reply ↓

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