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Central Ohio Car Shows & Motorcycle Events | August 31 to September 7, 2026

Published on Leave a comment on Central Ohio Car Shows & Motorcycle Events | August 31 to September 7, 2026
1976 AMC Pacer X - Owner: Daulton Hosler

This week leads us into the last holiday weekend of the 2026 Central Ohio car show season, with Labor Day being celebrated on Monday, September 7th.

Friday kicks off the weekend with a bang with the ZucchiniFest Car and Motorcycle Show, while the final Springfield Swap Meet of the year takes place Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, Mechanicsburg hosts its annual Hometown Heroes Show, along with the always-popular Import Face-Off.

Sunday brings a host of events stretching from Canal Winchester to Sabina, and we cap off the holiday weekend on Monday with shows in Columbus, Springfield, and Woodstock.

Oh yeah, and there’s one other little event happening this weekend—Ohio State kicks off its football season on Saturday. Go Bucks!

Please Note: Because of the Labor Day holiday, next week’s list will be posted on Tuesday, September 8th, so Monday’s events can be included.

Monday (August 31st):

  • No Events Found

Tuesday (September 1st):

Wednesday (September 2nd):

Thursday (September 3rd):

Friday (September 4th):

Saturday (September 5th):

Sunday (September 6th):

Monday (September 7th - Labor Day):

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

Ruzty Nutz Wednesday Night Cruise-In:

I took advantage of the nice weather Wednesday evening to check out the Ruzty Nutz Wednesday Night Cruise-In at the Grace Chapel Community Church in Westerville. The nice weather contributed to a great turnout, with more than 50 vehicles in attendance.

The Flavor To food truck was on hand until about 6:30 to help satisfy anyone’s thirst or hunger. A large portion of the attendees gathered in the usual shaded spot, shooting the breeze and talking cars.

I caught Mike Lowe doing a wipe down on his Chevy K5 Blazer.

Dave and Kathy Montgomery showed up in their brand-new 2027 Corvette Stingray, one of the first of the 2027s to hit the streets, powered by the new 6.7L (409 ci) LS6 V8. I gotta say, it sounded pretty good on startup.

Here are some of the other vehicles that turned out to enjoy the evening of cars and community.

Der Dutchman Cruise-In:

After a two-week hiatus because of rain-saturated fields, the Der Dutchman Cruise-In in Plain City returned Thursday evening. With the weatherman finally cooperating, along with some pent-up demand, 441 vehicles turned out for this week’s cruise-in.

Here’s a sampling of some of the cars that made it out to Plain City. As always, there was a wide variety of vehicles to enjoy.

Lifewise Academy Car & Bike Show:

The Lifewise Academy hosted its inaugural Car and Bike Show on Saturday at the Faith Assembly Worship Center in London.

With the help of Tom Lawrence and Gary Hamilton, who provided the Academy with car show consulting services and handled the judging, the first-time show registered 39 cars.

Awards were presented to the Top 15 vehicles, along with Best Bike, Pastor’s Choice, and Ruthie’s Choice (aka Best of Show).

In addition to the registration fees, there were lots of door prizes and a moped raffle, with tickets costing just $20 each. All to help to help support LifeWise London City.

Food, including hot dogs, hamburgers, bratwurst, chips, cookies, and water, was available for whatever you wished to donate. Tables and chairs were set up so people could sit down and enjoy their food.

In case you can't tell, this happy family won the Moped.

The Best Bike Award went to Steve Heider with a custom airbrushed 2013 Harley-Davidson Road King.

Dean Maisenbacher's 1959 Ford Fairlane Skyliner received the Pastor's Choice Award.

Ruthie’s Choice, or Best of Show honors, went to Randy Scott’s 1937 Ford Slantback.

Here are the rest of the vehicles that participated in the show, including the Top 15.

Hopewell Federal Credit Union Car Show:

Hopewell Federal Credit Union in Newark hosted its annual Car Show on Saturday, with 72 cars in attendance. All proceeds from the event benefit the Licking County Humane Society.

Hi-Way Starz members Mike Marcum, John Huber, Roy Frazier, and Bubba Hettinger all took home Top 18 trophies.

Left to Right: Mike Marcum, John Huber, Roy Frazier, Bubba Hettinger

Here are Bubba Hettinger’s photos from the show.

Vettes On The Scioto:

On Saturday, the Corvette Crew Car Club hosted its annual Vettes on the Scioto All Vehicle Car Show.

The event took place in front of COSI and was advertised as the “Showdown” Head-to-Head Competition Where GOATS Gather. The show registered 107 entries, with 55 of them being Corvettes.

What was interesting about this year’s show was its three distinct registration levels, each with a different entry fee. The Custom, Stock, Classic, and Old School categories had a $32 registration fee, the Platinum category cost $52 to enter, and finally, the GOAT category carried a $102 registration fee.

Dustin Bowers, Tony Oliver, and Arch Mayer received “Prestige” trophies in the Custom category, while Mick Crawford and Tim Hooten (not pictured) received a Prestige trophy in the Classic category.

Left to Right: Dustin Bower, Tony Oliver, Mick Crawford, Arch Mayer

Doug Glassburn took home the Best Truck Award for his 1972 Chevy C10 Stepside pickup.

Here are some of the other vehicles that participated in the show, captured by Doug Glassburn.

Beyond the Shadows Poker Run and Auto Show:

Dave and Jackie Hiles attended the Beyond the Shadows Poker Run and Auto Show in Fairfield County on Saturday. Money raised from the event benefits families impacted by suicide.

The Poker Run started at the DQ Grill & Chill in Baltimore, while the Car, Bike, and Truck Show took place at VFW Post 1380 in Lancaster. According to Jackie, the car show registered between 50 and 60 vehicles.

There were Chinese and silent auctions, door prizes, and a 50/50 raffle. Awards were presented to the Top 25, along with five or six specialty awards.

Dave and Jackie, Steve Schaeffer, Doug Mullin, and Wayne Scott all took home Top 25 awards. Hank Muncie received 2nd place in the truck category.

Left to Right: Hank Muncie, Wayne Scott, Dave Hiles, Doug Mullen
Steve Schaeffer

Delaware Christian Church Car, Truck, & Motorcycle Show:

Dave Bratton attended the Delaware Christian Church Car Show on Saturday. According to Dave, approximately 90 vehicles were registered for the show.

Things got off to a somewhat rocky start, with Dave spending about 45 minutes in the registration line. Two people were entering registration information into laptops, but a slow printer being used to print the window cards created a bottleneck. With much of the line standing in the sun, there was understandably some grumbling among the participants. There were also issues with the printer at last year’s show, so someone might want to get that fixed before next year.

Once everyone made it through registration, things went much more smoothly. The show featured a silent auction with approximately 30 items, along with a live auction just before the awards ceremony. And here’s something you don’t see at your typical car show—the live auction included a whole-house air conditioner and a water heater.

The awards ceremony was held inside the church’s new youth building, providing everyone with a comfortable place to escape the heat. There were Top 15 and three Specialty Awards. Unfortunately, the acoustics weren’t quite as cooperative. Dave said the echo was so bad that he couldn’t understand a single word when he played back his recording of the awards ceremony.

There were also approximately 50 vendors set up inside the church selling a variety of items. Dave didn’t come home with an air conditioner or water heater, but he did manage to score some really good brownies. 😎

Here are some of the cars Dave captured at the show.

Watkins Memorial High School Band Car Show:

The 2nd Annual Watkins Memorial High School Band Car Show drew an impressive 180 vehicles on Saturday, making it the largest event of the weekend. Dale Pearce captured many, but not all, of the vehicles that turned out for the show in this video. Take a look at the wide variety of cars and trucks that helped make the show such a success.

Vote, Voice, & Vintage Car & Bike Show:

The Vote, Voice, & Vintage Car and Bike Show took place on Sunday at Bob and Patty Spillman’s farm in Grove City.

With the assistance of Shaun “Big Dawg” Sanders and the C-Town Cruisers, the show was organized to raise money to help fight a proposed data center being built across the street from their farm.

The event featured live music, multiple food trucks, raffles, and a 50/50 drawing, with the winner’s half totaling more than $300. The show registered 119 entries.

Awards included trophies for the Top 20, along with ten Special Awards and a Best of Show. The Special Award categories were Band Pick, Best Pontiac, Best Import, Best Bike, Best Ford, Best Chevy, C-Town Pick, Best Mopar, Best Truck, and Best Rat Rod.

Here are the Special Award selections:

  • BAND PICK: 1963 Mercury Comet - Mike Barnett
  • BEST MOPAR: 1970 Chrysler 300 - Glenn Graham
  • BEST BIKE: 2014 Harley-Davidson Street Glide - Rob Cruz
  • BEST RAT ROD: 1965 Chevy C10 - Shawn Freels
  • C-TOWN PICK: 1969 Pontiac Firebird Convertible - Bo & Gayle Penix
  • BEST FORD: 1950 Ford Crestliner - Tim Conley
  • BEST IMPORT: 2000 BMW Z3 Roadster - Steve & Gretchen DeFrank
  • BEST PONTIAC: 1967 Pontiac GTO - Dan Burkett
  • BEST CHEVY: 1958 Chevy Delray - Chuck & Lisa Kelley
  • BEST TRUCK: 1946 Hudson Pickup - Rick Ridenour

The Best of Show honors went to Josh Drake and his 2020 Dodge Challenger.

Here are the other 108+ vehicles that participated in the show:

You can tell Bob and Patty Spillman are car people by the way the show was organized and the amenities they brought to the event. I gather Patty wasn’t expecting quite this large of a turnout, which is a good problem to have when you’re trying to raise money for a cause.

I overheard her say she was going to sleep for two days after the show. I’m sure the amount of effort it takes to put on an event of this magnitude is exhausting.

Delaware Area Vintage Motorcycle & Coffee:

I’m going to finish off this week’s News and Notes with a little bike action. Jason Covin shared some photos from the weekly Vintage Motorcycles and Coffee meetup at Coastline Coffee in Delaware. Starting in September, the meetup time will change from 8:00–10:00 AM to 2:00–3:00 PM.

Here’s a look at some of the vintage bikes that turned out for this week’s gathering.

Final Thoughts: We finally had a week of weather with no rain, although it was a little touch-and-go Sunday as to whether a shower might spoil the end of the Vote, Voice, & Vintage Car and Bike Show.

The dry weather also gave the fields in Plain City a chance to dry out, allowing the Der Dutchman Cruise-In to return Thursday evening after a two-week hiatus.

Now we head into a packed Labor Day weekend schedule, so rest up. There are plenty of events to choose from over the holiday weekend. Let’s hope the weatherman cooperates for another week.

This week’s remote reporters include Jeff Shankle, Doug Glassburn, Dave and Jackie Hiles, Bubba Hettinger, Dave Bratton, Dale Pearce, and Arch Mayer. A big thank you to all of you for contributing photos, videos, and information from the events you attended. Your contributions help make it possible to cover so many events throughout Central Ohio each week.

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

Home » Central Ohio Car Shows & Motorcycle Events | August 31 to September 7, 2026

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