Skip to content

Here is this week's line-up. Several Patriot Day car shows commemorating 9/11 will take place on Saturday. The Street Elite Corvette Club will host its annual open car show in Sunbury also on Saturday. Motts Military Show and the All Corvette Gathering in Lancaster highlight the schedule for Sunday.

NEWS AND NOTES:

WARNING: Because of the holiday weekend, this week's report is a long one. If you want to jump to the list of events and skip the report, click here.

Der Dutchman:

With weather conditions being close to ideal this past Thursday, attendance at the Der Dutchman cruise-in in Plain City, Ohio jumped back up to more than 300 cars. The weather forecast looks good for this coming Thursday so expect another big cruise-in.

Zucchinifest Car and Motorcycle Show:

On Friday evening the Zucchinifest Car and Motorcycle Show at Fortress Obetz in Obetz, Ohio registered more than 180 cars.

Best of Show went to a 1940 Woody Wagon with a Corvette engine. Our good friend, Dale Pearce, and his 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup received the Mayor's Choice award. Good thing Dale has a truck or it could have been a challenge getting that trophy home.

Richwood Bank Coffee and Cars Cruise-in:

Twenty-one cars spent a relaxing Saturday morning at the Richwood Bank in Delaware, Ohio. I left before the raffle drawing to make the drive over to Mechanicsburg.

The Flywheels Hot Rod Club of Marion hosted a car show at the Prospect Community Park in Prospect, Ohio on Saturday afternoon. The Club expected to register around 50 cars and ended up registering 174 vehicles. Talk about exceeding expectations!

The Prospect Lions Club and several food vendors provided refreshments. There were commercial and craft booths scattered around the park. I'm told the park was a great location for a car show. Clean restrooms and plenty of trees to provide shade.

The Flywheels Hot Rod Club plans to make this an annual event. To see more photos from the Flywheel show, click here.

Mechanicsburg First Responders Car Show:

Ohio State's football home opener has generally been the first Saturday of September so I've never been able to attend the Mechanicsburg First Responders Car Show until this year.

The show is held on Main Street (Route 29) north of Route 4 all the way to the Route 29/559 junction. Main Street south of Route 4 is used for overflow parking. And this year the show needed every bit of overflow parking as it registered well over 200 cars.

I arrived in Mechanicsburg around 11:40 AM (registration opened at 11 AM) and I had to park at the very end of Main Street right at the Rt 29/559 junction. It was just about a quarter-mile walk from my car to the fire station to register. My advice is to arrive early if you want to park anywhere close to the action.

I didn't see a lot in the way of food vendors. Although to be honest I wasn't looking for any. I know there was food available at the fire station and there were a couple of refreshment stands. I know this because I bought ice tea at one.

The awards were a combination of custom-made and traditional trophies. There were a good number of special awards like Mayor's Choice, Most Original, Farthest Traveled, Best Engine, etc, along with "Top 45" trophies, a Runner-up Best of Show, and a Best of Show.

Runner-up Best of Show went to Sam Parks and his 1948 Chevrolet Pickup. The orange 1946 Ford Coupe belonging to Robert Kirst from Mansfield, Ohio took the Best of Show honors.

If you'd like to see more cars from the Mechanicsburg show, click here.

Auto Smarts Cruise and Ride at Ten Pin Alley:

Dan "Boots" Longenette and Pepsi's Auto Smarts Radio Cruise and Ride team were in Hilliard, Ohio Saturday at the Ten Pin Alley bowling establishment.

The show registered 82 vehicles. Dale Pearce and his 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup took The Best Truck Award. Best of Show went to Aaron Denney and his 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442.

The Italian Gathering:

On my way to the Dublin A.M. Rotary Classic Car Show on Sunday, I stopped by Wendy's International Headquarters in Dublin, Ohio to take some photos from the Italian Gathering. Boy, could you smell the money!

The event is organized by Evans Automotive and proceeds go to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Wendy's Wonderful Kids.

This is the first year that owners of the British manufactured McLaren could participate in the Italian Gathering. Personally, I think the organizers should relabel it the Exotic Gathering and allow the Porsches, Jaguars, and any other high-end foreign-manufactured cars to participate. I bet it would be a huge event.

Click here to see more photos from the Italian Gathering.

Dublin A.M. Rotary Classic Car Show:

After a year off because of Covid, the Rotary Club of Dublin A.M. held their second annual classic car show on Sunday in the public parking lots off Bridge Park Avenue in Dublin, Ohio.

This year the show registered 103 cars. The DJ again was Jason Nester, who in my opinion is one of the top two or three DJs in the area. Elvis was also in the parking lot along with the Poodle girls. The biggest complaint I heard was the lack of food vendors. If you wanted something to eat or drink the only choices were the restaurants adjacent to the parking lots.

The Dublin A.M. Rotary presented 30 "Favorite" trophies and a Best of Show. The Best of Show Award went to Mark Richmond with a 1967 Volkswagon Karmann Ghia Coupe.

Click this link for more photos from the Dublin A.M. Rotary Classic Car Show.

American Legion Southway Post 144 Labor Day Car Meet:

Big Dawg and the C-Town Cruisers were in south Columbus, Ohio on Monday hosting the Labor Day Car Meet at the American Legion Southway Post 144.

The American Legion Southway Post 144 is one of my favorite venues for a car show. It sits back off of South High Street. There's a long driveway to a big parking lot. You can park on the blacktop or you can park in the grass. There's plenty of shaded areas to escape the sun. What's really nice is the members of Post 144 appreciate the C-Town Cruisers hosting car shows at their establishment.

Getting back to the show, 90 cars registered Monday with another 10-20 cars showing up but not registering. Big Dawg presented trophies to the "Top 40" cars along with a Best Truck Award, a Best Rat Rod/Most Potential Award, a Most Patriotic Award, a Club Participation Award, the Larry Bickers Memorial Award, and a Best of Cruise.

The Larry Bickers Memorial Award went to Mike and Sandy Gibson and their 1947 Buick Super Convertible. The 1957 Chevy Bel Air belonging to Tom and Lynn Verfaillie took the Best of Cruise honors.

American Legion Southway Post 144 Labor Day Car Meet photos

I received a few photos from Monday's West Jefferson Ox Roast Car Show that was held in Garrett Park in West Jefferson, Ohio. It looks like the event registered around 140 cars. According to the flyer, there were trophies for the "Favorite" 35 and a Best of Show. If anyone knows who took the Best of Show Award or has information on any other shows in the area this past weekend, please feel free to post in the comments.

That's it for this week. I think I set a record with 520 photos taken over the three-day weekend. Whew!

I want to thank Dale Pearce, Cathy, and Mark Krist, Jeff Shankle, and Bryan Lewis for their help making this report.


If you'd like to be notified by email when a new posting appears, click the Subscribe link at the top of the page. This is a non-profit website. Rest assured your email address will NEVER be sold to marketers. There's no risk of more spam mail in your inbox if you subscribe.


4

Mopar fans and their hemi engines will be invading Hebron, Ohio this weekend for the 40th Annual Mopar Nationals. If you're a Volkswagon aficionado there's the Volkfest Car Show and Swap Meet on Saturday in Pataskala, Ohio. And if you're into tomatoes, well, the 2021 Tomatofest Car Meet in Reynoldsburg, Ohio should be right up your alley.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Der Dutchman:

The Der Dutchman cruise-in in Plain City, Ohio returned to form this past Thursday with more than 300 cars in attendance. For some unexplained reason, I photographed a lot of makes and models in pairs this week.

Hosanna Lutheran Church Car Show:

The 8th Annual Hosanna Lutheran Church Car Show in Pataskala, Ohio registered 89 cars on Friday evening. The Church presented awards to the Top 30 cars, a People's Choice award, and Best of Show. Judging was done on a points system.

The People's Choice Award went to Emma Leigh with a 1956 Mercury Monterey. Larry Steffey and his 2013 Roush Stage 3 Mustang took the Best of Show honors.

Click Here, for more photos from the Hosanna Lutheran Church show.

Karting Classic Car, Truck & Bike Show:

The Commercial Point, Ohio Karting Classic 4th Annual Car, Truck, & Bike Show registered around 130 cars on Friday. From the report I got, the show had a bigger turnout than expected. Looks like the organizers had some pretty nice trophies to present. To see more from the Karting Classic show, click here.

Richwood Bank Cruise-In:

The Richwood Bank in Delaware, Ohio hosted their second cruise-in of the season this past weekend. Thirty-two cars turned out for the Saturday morning affair. There were raffle prizes and coffee shop specials for anyone who registered a car. Joey Gill from Chesrown Chevrolet, Buick, GMC brought over a brand new 2021 mid-engine Corvette Convertible for display.

The bank plans to host another cruise-in the first Saturday in September and possibly a Halloween-themed cruise-in in October weather permitting.

Vettes, Rods and Classics Car Show:

After a one-year hiatus because of Covid, The Capital City Corvette Club returned to the Creekside district in Gahanna, Ohio on Saturday with their Vettes, Rods, and Classics Car Show. The show registered 298 cars. Thirteen short of the previous attendance record. From my casual observation as a spectator, it looked like the number of rods and classics were down a bit from previous years. There were definitely a lot of Corvettes!

Because of the threat of severe thunderstorms in the area, the awards presentation started around 4 PM instead of 5 PM as planned. I stuck around until the thunder and lightning started and then got out of there ASAP so I wasn't around for the Best of Show announcements. I found out later that no one else was around for the BOS announcements either because as they started announcing the C5 Corvette awards the monsoon rain started.

The winners are supposed to be posted to the Capital City Corvette Club's website. As of this writing, nothing has been posted. I'll post a link to the award winners as soon as it becomes available.

I did manage to get a photo of one award winner before the skies opened up. David Zitko and his 1971 Chevy Chevelle received the Gahanna Police Department Car Award.

UPDATE: The list of award winners has been posted to the Capital City Corvette Club website under the Announcements heading.

The Best of Show award for the Rods and Classics went to Kevin Foust and his 1941 Dodge Wc40 Military Weapon Carrier. Paul and Kelly Beck and their 1966 Corvette convertible received the Best of Show for the Vettes.

To see more photos from the Vettes, Rods, and Classics show, click here.

Honor Flight/Vance Outdoors Car Show:

The Honor Flight/Vance Outdoors Show hosted by Pepsi's Auto Smarts Radio Cruise and Ride crew registered 148 cars on Saturday. The show raised $95,000 for Honor Flight. Word has it Boots cut off his beard for charity.

The Best of Show award went to the 1930 Ford Five Window Pickup Truck belonging to Ralph Carle.

Click here, for additional photos from the Honor Flight/Vance Outdoors Show.


Powell Sertoma Cruise-In and Pig Out:

The Powell Sertoma Cruise-In and Pig Out Car Show returned back to the streets of downtown Powell, Ohio on Sunday. The show registered more than 140 cars. The Best of Show award went to Brett Gearhart and his 1967 Chevy Nova SS.

For more Cruise-In and Pig Out photos, click here.

Other Area Shows:

The Baltimore Ohio Festival Cruise-In registered 140 cars on Friday evening. Tom Stewart and his 1982 "Orange Crush" Chevy C-10 pickup received the Best Truck Award.

Dale Pearce and his 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup took Best of Show honors at the Amvets Post 1776 Red, White & Cruise Show in Logan, Ohio on Saturday.

The Hartford Fair Car Show in Croton, Ohio attracted 169 cars on Sunday. Dawayne Noble's Volkswagon received the Best of Show award.


Special thanks to Dave Bratton, Larry Walters, Dale Pearce, and Jeff Shankle for helping to make this week's News and Notes.


If you'd like to be notified by email when a new posting appears, click the Subscribe link at the top of the page. This is a non-profit website. Rest assured your email address will NEVER be sold to marketers. There's no risk of more spam mail in your inbox if you subscribe.


A big week for events, especially Saturday with 16 events on the schedule. No excuse not to make at least one car show or cruise-in this week.

NEWS AND NOTES:

The former "On the Rocks" car show is back under a new name. The bar and grill at Karric Square in Dublin, Ohio has undergone several owners since the last car show was held there in September 2018. It is now called the Last Call Music Bar & Grill. The show is scheduled for Sunday, June 20. No other show in Central Ohio could spark a stronger reaction from people than the old On the Rocks show. It will be interesting to see how the new show is received.

Despite light showers in the area, the first Der Dutchman Cruise-In of the season registered 117 cars. Five of those cars were first-timers to the cruise-in.

Over the winter, the restaurant built a larger foodshed to better accommodate the large number of people that attend the cruise-in each week.

Columbus Cars and Coffee held their second meet of the season at Esoteric Fine Auto Finishing in New Albany, Ohio. Even with temperatures in the 40s Saturday morning, there was an excellent turnout. If you're into high-end, exotic cars this was the place to be.

Boots and the Auto Smarts Radio team were in Upper Arlington, Ohio on Saturday for the fourth Annual Jim Hamilton Car Show. The show registered 135 cars with a bunch more showing up but not registering.

The Best of Show award went to Perry Lynch with a 1937 Chevy 2 door sedan.

If you grew up in Columbus in the '60s and '70s and you had a "hot" car, you knew Jerry's Drive-In at the corner of High Street and Morse Road was the place to hang out. You couldn't miss the huge pulsating neon red arrow as you drove down High Street.

The last cruise-in at that location took place Saturday evening. The Tee Jayes restaurant currently there now will soon be replaced by a Chic-FiL-A. It's always sad to see an era come to a close. Lots of folks have fond memories cruising through that parking lot. A big shout out to Chad Shirtzinger for organizing this final cruise-in.

Central Ohio Forecast
75°
Sunny
6:06 am8:52 pm EDT
WedThuFriSatSun
88/59°F
90/63°F
91/64°F
91/66°F
88/63°F

14

1960 Lincoln Continental Mark V

There isn’t a bunch of events in March so instead of posting a weekly list, I’m posting the events for the entire month. The weekly lists will begin again in April.

Central Ohio Forecast
75°
Sunny
6:06 am8:52 pm EDT
WedThuFriSatSun
88/59°F
90/63°F
91/64°F
91/66°F
88/63°F

6

A much lighter schedule this week as the 2020 season starts to wind down.

Looking forward, next Saturday (October 17) has 10 events so far on the schedule. After that, things start to taper off dramatically as the season comes to a close.

News and Notes:

I received an email this week from a reader that there will be a Powell Cruise-In and Pig Out this year. It won't be a downtown show as in past years. It will be held in the empty field just west of Auto Assets. The show is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, and is limited to 100 vehicles so you must register ahead of time. This link will take you to the registration form.

Colo's Classic Car Show on Saturday at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was 100 short of my prediction of 1000 registered cars. Despite missing the thousand mark, it still ends up being the largest car event in central Ohio this year.

Saturday's show also marked the 600th event for the Pepsi Auto Smarts Radio Cruise and Ride series. Congratulations to Boots and his team for achieving this big milestone!

The Hot Rods and Handlebars show Saturday evening at AD Farrows in Sunbury, Ohio got some glowing reviews. Someone posted on Facebook that it was one of the best shows they had been to all year.


Central Ohio Forecast
75°
Sunny
6:06 am8:52 pm EDT
WedThuFriSatSun
88/59°F
90/63°F
91/64°F
91/66°F
88/63°F

6

If you've got a good case of cabin fever or are just itching for a car show, Creative Towing/Advanced Auto Parts will be holding their first show of the season this Friday (March 13, 2020).

The show will take place at the Advanced Auto Parts store at 1005 Delaware Avenue (Rt 36) in Marysville, Ohio. Registration is from 5:30 to 7:00 PM with awards presented between 7:30 and 8:00 PM. Registration is Free! All proceeds from door prize sales and 50/50 raffle go to support local charities.

The weather forecast calls for rain in the morning but it should be out of the area by the start of the show. Temperatures look to be considerably warmer than they were for the last Creative Towing/Advanced Auto Parts show last November. I'm told the wheelbarrow fire pit is still available if needed.

Any questions regarding the show, please contact Jeff Shankle (614-679-2287).

For a list of future Central Ohio car events, please check out The Save the Dates for 2020 page.

An old wheelbarrow became a makeshift fire pit Friday evening to keep the 17 car and truck owners that turned out for the final Creative Towing/Advanced Auto Parts car show in Marysville, Ohio from freezing to death.

By the end of the show, temperatures had fallen into the mid to low 20's. Thank goodness there wasn't much wind or the evening would have been really brutal.

For this final show of the season, six awards were presented.

Continue Reading

4

The Empty Pockets Cruisers hosted their annual Trunk or Treat Car show on Saturday at the Hilliard Presbyterian Church in Hilliard, Ohio.

With temperatures near 80 on Friday, a cold front moved through the area overnight dropping the high on Saturday into the mid-50s. The drastic change in temperature caused the one car club to cancel their event on Saturday.

Despite the chilly temperatures, the Empty Pocket Cruisers went on with the show and managed to register 137 vehicles. In the afternoon, there were plenty of children dressed up in costumes trick or treating their way through the cars.

Once again the Ohio Zombie Guard was there to protect the crowd from zombies, ghosts, ghouls, globlins, and other unnatural phenomena.

Continue Reading

1

Der Dutchman in Plain City, Ohio failed to meet its goal of 300 cars on Thursday evening. Despite missing the goal, the restaurant still managed to have its best attendance of the year. The weekly cruise-in registered 243 vehicles. Forty-seven of those were first-time participants.

One of the first-timers was Matt Rittenhouse and his 2017 Camaro ZL1.

Creative Mobile Interiors and their 1972 Chevy C-30 custom camper was another first-timer.

Jeff and Lynne made their first appearance in a "slightly altered" 1973 Ford Econoline.

Continue Reading

Friday evening's Creative Towing/Advanced Auto Parts car show in Marysville, Ohio paid tribute to the life of Dalton Shank. Dalton who was 14 years old passed away unexpectantly in a fire on June 2 in Michigan. He is the son of Creative Towing employee, Greg Shank. Through the generosity of local businesses and the sale of raffle tickets, the show raised $700 for the family.

With a beautiful evening of weather, attendance was one of the highest in the show's six-year history with 47 cars.

Continue Reading
%d bloggers like this: