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NEWS AND NOTES
Der Dutchman Cruise-In:
This past Thursday evening’s cruise-in at Der Dutchman in Plain City, Ohio, had a special treat in store for attendees. A little over 30 Cobras made the drive over from the London, Ohio Cobra Show, bringing some serious muscle and style to the weekly gathering.
Among the sea of Cobras, one car stood out—not for its rarity, but for being a bit of an outlier. Somehow, a Dodge Viper found its way into the mix.
With the influx of Cobras and regular participants, the total car count for the night reached 301 vehicles, making it one of the more well-attended events of the season so far.
Each week tends to bring something unique to the cruise-in. The standout for “most unusual” vehicle of the night went to a 1970 Alfa Romeo — a car you don’t often see at typical car shows or cruise-ins.
To wrap up this week’s Der Dutchman report, here’s a look at a few more Cobras from the London Cobra Show that helped make the evening memorable.
Tint World Cruise In:
Tint World Automotive Styling Center, in association with the Columbus Chapter of the Mustang Club of Ohio, hosted its second cruise-in of the season on Friday evening.
Approximately 25 cars stopped by during the evening. Luna Pizza Kitchen was there serving up slices of pizza. In addition to the food, there was also a 50/50 split pot drawing.
No surprise the largest percentage of cars were Mustangs, other makes and models helped add some variety to the event.
It was a laid-back evening with great cars and a friendly crowd. The cruise-in will continue every month through October. The next cruise-in will be Friday, July 25th.
London Strawberry Festival Car Show:
Editor’s Note: The goal of these reports is to celebrate our local car events—not to criticize them—but when problems arise, it’s only fair to reflect the experience as it happened.
This year’s London Strawberry Festival Car Show was marked by confusion, frustration, and significant logistical issues that left many participants disappointed.
Although the show did take place, numerous reports indicate that it was not held at its advertised location on Union Street. Several attendees who arrived between 5:30 and 6:00 PM—just before the scheduled registration time—reported seeing no signs of a show or any event setup on Union Street. One attendee mentioned being told the show was “full” by 5:45 PM, despite registration being listed to begin at 6:00 PM.
The show was ultimately relocated to South Main Street near the railroad tracks for reasons still unknown—information that many participants only discovered upon arrival or through word of mouth. These abrupt changes, coupled with a lack of signage or communication, led to considerable confusion.
The relocated show area reportedly couldn’t accommodate many cars and filled up quickly. As a result, many attendees chose to leave—either heading home or checking out other shows instead.
One participant summed it up this way: “Definitely a poorly run show. I felt bad for the one guy running it. He took a ton of crap — including some from me — and it wasn’t even his fault. I apologized for ripping him a new one. He was a nice guy and handled it really well. He admitted the organizers screwed up and said they deserved to hear about it.”
For many, this year’s event fell short of expectations due to poor planning and a lack of communication. Still, as always, the Central Ohio car community made the best of a less-than-ideal situation.
One bright spot came for Kenny G., whose 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat took home the Best in Show Award.
Cruisin' with the Mayor:
“Cruisin’ with the Mayor” Car Show took place Friday evening in West Jefferson, Ohio.
The show featured 47 cars in attendance—plus Elvis!
Awards were presented for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place, along with a Mayor’s Choice Award.
Here’s a sampling of cars from the show, thanks to Jeff Shankle.
Blackwings & Batteries:
Germain Cadillac of Easton hosted its first-ever Blackwings & Batteries meetup on Saturday morning. As a Cadillac Blackwing owner, this event was high on my list to attend.
Over 40 cars stopped by during the event, representing a nice mix of classic, exotic, and muscle cars. Everyone who participated received a ticket for complimentary food and beverage from one of the food trucks.
Two of the coolest cars from the morning were both Chevys. First up was a stunning, spotless 1959 Chevy Impala convertible.
The other was a slammed Chevy pickup rocking an LT4 supercharged small-block engine.
Below are more cars from the event.
Word is, Germain is considering another meetup this fall—stay tuned!
Catawba Christian Fellowship Church Classic Car, Tractor, Truck & Bike Show:
The Catawba, Ohio Christian Fellowship Church held its 2nd annual Car, Tractor, Truck, & Bike Show on Saturday.
A total of 52 cars showed up, along with 5 tractors. Chevy Tri-Fives were out in force with four ’55s and four ’57s.
Awards were handed out for Best Ford, Best GM, Best Pickup/Van/Panel Truck, Oldest Vehicle, Most Original, Best Project Car, and Best Overall.
The Best Overall Award went to Chad Hilderbrand and his 1961 Chevy Impala Bubbletop 409.
Here are more photos Jeff Shankle shared from the show.
Mt. Victory Mopar Car Show:
The 22nd Annual All Mopar Car Show was held Saturday at the Plaza Inn Family Restaurant in Mt. Victory, Ohio. Sponsored by the Buckeye Region Plymouth Owners Club, this year’s event celebrated 100 years of Chrysler.
Registration was just $10 and included a buffet lunch for all participants instead of trophies. There were also door prizes, a 50/50 raffle, dash plaques, and coffee and donuts for early arrivals. A total of 45 cars showed up for the event.
Big thanks to Marty Ruiz for sharing his photos from the show.
Deer Creek State Park Car Show and Cruise-In:
The Deer Creek State Park Car Show and Cruise-In brought in 144 cars on Saturday—not too shabby for a first-time event!
Check out some of the rides Tom Lawrence snapped at the show.
Auto Smarts Radio Cruise and Ride at Eagles Linden FOA 2252:
After hosting a show in Lebanon the week prior, Dan “Boots” Longenette and the Auto Smart Radio Cruise and Ride team returned to Central Ohio on Saturday for the Eagles Linden FOA 2252 Car Show.
This year’s show drew 75 cars—an improvement of 40 over last year’s turnout. Despite the heat, the event was well-judged, with plenty of Eagles members evaluating both cars and bikes. Speaking of bikes, there was a surprisingly solid turnout—around 10 to 12 showed up.
With the sun beating down, quite a few folks headed inside to cool off and grab an adult beverage. The bar was packed! Around 10 cars left before the awards, including the Best of Show winner.
The awards ceremony was delayed about 30 minutes, and to make matters worse, the microphone didn’t work—so Boots had to shout out the winners.
Best of Show went to a 1964 Pontiac Grand Prix.
Cruisin' with the King Car Show:
The Burger King on Route 31 in Marysville, Ohio was packed with cars Saturday evening as the Mid Ohio Cruisers Car Club held its June car show at the restaurant.
This month’s show had 60 registered cars (registration is always free!) plus another 12 that showed up but didn’t register. Even a few dogs stopped by to check out the beautiful rides.
As always, the club picks its 15 favorite registered cars to get an award plaque.
Here are this month's Favorite 15.
Executive Storage Estates Open House:
The Executive Storage Estates in Plain City, Ohio held its annual open house Saturday evening. There was some confusion beforehand about whether the event was by invitation only or open to the public—there didn’t seem to be any advertising, so I assume it was an invite-only affair.
While fewer units were open this year compared to past events, there was still no shortage of exotic vehicles and unique setups to check out. A few food trucks were on site, including a Grater’s Ice Cream truck that was especially popular with attendees.
Dave Bratton shared some great photos from the event.
Danville Car Show:
Originally scheduled for June 8th, the Danville Car Show at Memorial Park in Danville, Ohio was rescheduled to Sunday, June 22nd due to weather—and it turned out to be a great decision. The show attracted 128 registered vehicles, marking the best turnout in the event’s history!
Dale Pearce and Jeff Tolley both received Top 30 awards for their trucks.
1st Annual Play For Purpose Car Show:
The first-ever Play for Purpose Car Show was held Sunday at the Hardin County Fairgrounds in Kenton, Ohio, with 83 vehicles registered.
Votes for Kids’ Choice and People’s Choice were tallied using a phone app, while the rest of the awards were judged the traditional way.
There were a few hiccups along the way—award announcements were delayed as information was entered into a computer, and in some cases, winners were called without mentioning the car’s year or even the owner’s name.
Thankfully, free water was available all day to help everyone stay cool in the heat.
Kevin Foust’s 1941 Dodge WC Weapons Carrier received the Best Truck award—though it was mistakenly announced as a 1998 Dodge “VC40.”
As for Best of Show, the announcement was a bit vague—just “a Mercedes.” Kevin Foust believes the car pictured below is the one that took the honor.
Other Area Shows:
- Dale Pearce made the trip to Chillicothe, Ohio on Saturday evening to attend the First Capital Enterprises Classic Car and Bike Show. His 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup took home First Place in the Pre-1985 class. Congrats, Dale!
- Big congrats to Jeff Tolley! His 1959 Chevy Biscayne earned a Top 5 Award at Saturday’s Bootleggers Bash in Mansfield, Ohio!
Special thanks to Dale Pearce, Jeff Shankle, Jeff Tolley, Tom Lawrence, Dave Bratton, Kevin Foust, Marty Ruiz, and Kenny G. for contributing their photos and write-ups for this report.
Stay safe, stay cool, and we’ll see you at the next show!