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NEWS AND NOTES
It was another weekend with a 90% chance of rain in the forecast for Saturday and about the same on Sunday. But once again, the rain never really showed up—though not before three shows got canceled and another three were postponed.
Der Dutchman Cruise-In:
It was a huge Thursday evening at the Der Dutchman Restaurant in Plain City, Ohio. Not only was the restaurant packed with guests, but the cruise-in outside saw 420 cars in attendance. Thirty-seven of the 420 were first-time participants.
The Der Dutchman cruise-in is one of those rare events where you can see a Porsche, a Challenger, a Mustang, and a Volkswagen parked side by side.
Sprinkle in a ’33 Auburn, a Rolls-Royce, and a 1930s Buick, and you end up with the best variety of cars at any event in Central Ohio.
This week featured two particularly unique and unusual cars. The first was a heavily modified and nearly unrecognizable Miata, and the second was a Triumph Spitfire with a small-block engine—both set up for racing.
Whether you’re a die-hard car enthusiast or just someone who appreciates a good cruise-in, Thursday nights at Der Dutchman continue to offer an unforgettable mix of machines, memories, and community spirit.
Danbury Senior Living Car Show:
The Danbury Senior Living Center in Columbus, Ohio, hosted its second annual Car Show on Friday. The show featured just over 20 cars.
Everyone who brought a vehicle received a goody bag containing all the ingredients—minus the meat—to make a spaghetti dinner.
In addition to the goody bag, participants were treated to lunch, which included barbecue ribs and chicken, potato salad, chips, and a beverage.
Here are the cars that attended the show:
The event offered a fun and flavorful afternoon for car enthusiasts and residents alike.
Creative Auto Group/Advance Auto Parts Car Show:
The Creative Auto Group/Advance Auto Parts store in Marysville, Ohio, hosted its June Car Show on Friday evening. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t kind to the event—only six cars braved the steady drizzle to attend. However, the show still managed to raise $40 for the Milford Center Food Pantry.
One positive outcome of the rain was that it gave everyone a chance to hang out inside the Advance Auto Parts stockroom and shoot the breeze.
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.
Flywheels Annual Car Show:
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.
To see more photos from the show, click the link below.
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.
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