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2

Published on 2 Comments on Central Ohio Car Shows, Cruise-Ins, and Meet-Ups for May 8 – 14, 2023
2011 Chevy Camaro Convertible - Owner: Kenny Windle

This should be my last post from the great state of Florida for this year. Heading back to Ohio on Tuesday. Should be back in Columbus Wednesday afternoon or evening. I hope to see everyone at Der Dutchman on Thursday.

With Sunday being Mother's Day, there is a huge line-up of events on Saturday. No one should have trouble finding something to participate in that day.

Monday (May 8):

Tuesday (May 9):

  • No Events Found

Wednesday (May 10):

Thursday (May 11):

Friday (May 12):

Saturday (May 13):

Sunday - (May 14 -Mother's Day):

For the most comprehensive list of future events in Central Ohio, check out the "Save the Dates for 2023" page. There's also a quick link in the menu at the top of the page.

If you'd like to be notified by email when a new posting appears, click the Subscribe link at the top. 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.

NEWS AND NOTES

This past weekend saw near-perfect car show weather on Friday and Saturday disappear into morning showers on Sunday which canceled three events.

Der Dutchman Cruise-In:

Attendance at the first cruise-in of the season at the Der Dutchman Restaurant in Plain City, Ohio reached 240 Thursday evening. Of course, there was the usual assortment of low-calorie goodies raffled off at the end.

Delaware First Friday:

The First Friday event in downtown Delaware, Ohio took place on Friday evening. Approximately 38 cars participated in the cruise-in part of the event.

It's my understanding that If you want to leave the cruise-in before 9 PM, you can request assistance from the police to move your vehicle from the designated parking area.

Tri-County's Annual Car Show:

The Tri-County Career Center in Nelsonville, Ohio hosted its annual car show on Saturday. The event drew more the 80 cars.

The awards were hand-made and all the award winners were picked by the students. Our good friend, Dale Pearce, received a Truck trophy. Karson Musick went home with the Best of Show Peddle Car.

NAMI Mid-Ohio Car Show:

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Mid-Ohio hosted its annual car show on Saturday at the Polaris Shopping Mall in Columbus, Ohio. The organization serves Delaware, Marrow, and Union counties.

The event registered more than 80 cars. There were 60-80 vendor booths selling all kinds of merchandise.

The show presented four awards, Best Muscle, Best Classic, Best Modern, and Best of Show. Lynn Wellman and her 1968 Pontiac Firebird received the Best Muscle Award. This was Lynn's first car show. The Best Classic award went to Rex Blevins with a 1955 Crown Victoria. The 2016 McLaren belonging to Joey Lowendick was picked Best Modern and our good friend, Dave Bratton, and his 1937 Ford convertible was the Best of Show winner.

Left to Right: Joey Lowendick, Dave Bratton, Rex Blevins, Lynn Wellman

Circleville First Church Auto Show:

The weather turned out to be a little better in Circleville on Sunday than in Columbus. As a result, the Circleville First Church Auto Show registered 85 cars. David Anderson and his 1963 Chevy Impala SS received the Best of Show award.

Other Area Shows:

  • The Elgin High School Music Boosters Classic Car & Bike Show in Marion, Ohio registered 91 cars on Saturday. Our good friend, Russ Annis, and his 1967 Chevy Chevelle SS picked up one of the 25 "Favorite" awards.
  • Speaking of Marion, The Rod Knockers Car Club of Marion hosted its second show of the season at the Rural King on Saturday evening. There were more than 150 cars in attendance.
  • On Sunday, Chad Herrick took home the Best of Show honors at the Eldorado's Car, Truck, & Bike Show with his 2018 Dodge Charger Daytona 392. Brian Z's Ford Falcon received Best Car and Mark Mitchell's SSR Best Truck.
  • After the rain moved out of the area, the Heart of Ohio Antique Center in Springfield, Ohio ended up with 50-60 cars in attendance for its monthly cruise-in Sunday afternoon.

This concludes this last report from Florida. Now back to packing.

A big thanks to all the remote reporters who have sent me photos and info during these first two months of the season. The list includes Jeff Shankle, Dave Bratton, Dale Pearce, Anthony Musick, Bling Amobi Breezy, Mark Mitchell, and Russ Annis. Your help has been invaluable!

Central Ohio Forecast
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Weather forecast Columbus, Ohio ▸

17

Published on 17 Comments on 2021 Central Ohio Car Show Season in Review

After the finish of every season, I like to take a look back at what I think was good and what I think was not so good about it. The opinions expressed are my own and apply only to the events I attended. If you disagree with me or have an event you thought was particularly good or one not so good, please feel free to post a comment. With that said, lets get on with the review of the 2021 Central Ohio car show season..

From April 17 through November 12, I participated in 77 car shows, cruise-ins, and meet-ups and was a spectator in another nine. I took 5500 photos of classic cars, muscle cars, exotics, trucks, and motorcycles. I drove over 2600 miles round trip to report on local car events. This may all sound very impressive until you find out Jeff Tolley and his friends participated in 180 events this season. That's pretty much one every single day!

The Good:

Let's start with some good. The 2021 car show season pretty much returned to pre-pandemic normals. To my knowledge, not a single public health agency forced the cancellation of a car event this season because of Covid. Even the Governor allowed Goodguys to return to the Fairgrounds despite banning the public from attending the Ohio State Fair.

Shaun "Big Dawg" Saunders' C-Town Cruisers and Dan "Boots" Longenette and Pepsi's Auto Smarts Cruise and Ride had a full slate of events this season compared to last year. The two combined to host more than 50 shows in Central Ohio!

Following a two and three-year absence respectively, the cruise-in at Chesrown Chevrolet, Buick, GMC in Delaware, and the car show formerly known as On the Rocks in Dublin returned in 2021.

Unfortunately, not every event came back. Missing this season was the USA Days Car Show in Centerburg, Cruisin' For a Cause, one of my favorites, at the Discover Church in Dublin, the downtown Lithopolis show on Memorial Day, the Canal Winchester Labor Day car show, and the Spring Fling (it plans to be back in 2022) just to name a few of the missing shows this year.

The biggest shocker of the season came in June when it was announced after 12 years that Colo's Classic Car Show at the Columbus Zoo was canceled. A lot of rumors floated around as to the reason for the cancellation but the Zoo never put out an "official" statement as far as I know.

After hosting no shows in 2020, The Rod Knockers Car Club out of Marion and the Mid Ohio Cruisers Club out of Marysville returned with their monthly car shows. The Mid Ohio Cruisers show had a new home at the Burger King on Route 31. It took a few shows for everyone to get adjusted to the new location. No question, both clubs continue to put on the best no registration fee car shows in Central Ohio.

The weekly Thursday cruise-in at the Der Dutchman Restaurant in Plain City continued its reign as the king of Central Ohio cruise-ins. The cruise-ins started two weeks earlier this year. It was attended by more than 300 cars seven times during the summer. It set an all-time attendance record of 439 cars on the last cruise-in of the year. A whopping 2900 vehicles were registered in 2021.

Looking back over the year, I can't say there were any shows I attended that were truly outstanding. At the same time, I can't say I attended any that were horrible, either.

The Empty Pockets Cruisers hosted four shows this year instead of their usual three. All four shows were well done. Their Trunk or Treat show continues to be one of my favorites. I always say it takes car people to put on a good car show.

Shows that I participated in for the first time included the All Corvette Gathering, Hosanna Lutheran Church Car Show, Mechanicsburg First Responders Car Show, Blackwing Shooting Center Summer Blast, Farrows Hot Rods and Handlebars, and Tolles Career and Technical Center Car and Craft Show. I was a spectator at my first Italian Gathering and Kreiger Ford Mustang and All Ford Show.

Buckeye Cruzin' at Ohio Stadium gets the award for the most expensive registration fee. Although to be fair, the $175 fee went to support the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer. It was a fun event until the engine revving got out of hand and forced me to leave.

The most chaotic event this year was the Jax Wax Street Madness in July. The title gave a pretty good description of the event. Between the steady line of cars trying to get into the parking area and the hundreds of car audio systems blaring, I had a pounding headache by the time I left.

Heels and Wheels at the Vanity Gentlemen's Club was the most "adult" car show I attended. The Mayor had a couple of huge assets that were hard to overlook. Those who attended the show will know what I'm talking about.

Frank Sanborn gets this year's most miles traveled award. Not only did Frank attend shows in Central Ohio, but he also traveled to events in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Bowling Green, Kentucky, Fairmount and Gas City Indiana, and Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Not So Good:

Some not-so-good news this year was the loss of some of our car show community members. Larry Bickers passed away in May. Many of you will remember Larry from his 2003 Mustang "Daily Driver" with more than 190,000 miles.

In September, we lost Jim Matheny. I never met Jim, but I'm told he helped organize and run lots of car shows in the Newark/Heath areas. He held positions with the Super Chevy Car Show Organization and Let's Go Cruising Magazine. For many years, he served as chairman for "Lite the Nite" and operated Jim Matheny Kar Shoz.

And finally, Terry McReynolds passed away in October. Terry was the Pace Truck Driver at Columbus Motor Speedway for more than 20 years. He was also an integral part of Pepsi's Auto Smarts Cruise and Ride team and a close friend of Dan "Boots" Longenette.

All three will be very much missed as will others who passed away this year.

This was my tenth year attending car shows and the first time experiencing a collision at one. A car leaving the North Hills Church of God Car and Bike Show in September pulled out in front of an oncoming car and caused it to flip around 360 degrees hitting a motorcycle and car participating in the show. This added a bit more excitement to the show than expected.

Another first in 2021 was my banishment from the Ohio Car Shows and Cruise-ins Facebook group in July. The reason for being banished was my disagreement with their decision not to approve the list of Central Ohio car events for the week of July 12-18. They decided not to publicize any events that might compete with their group car show at Knox County Fairgrounds that Saturday. Seriously? The group's stated purpose is to promote car shows and cruise-ins in and around the state of Ohio.

After 12 years of meeting on Saturday mornings, Columbus Cars and Coffee at Lennox Town Center was abruptly canceled in May after some participants leaving the meet displayed some very poor judgment. In November, the group started meeting on Saturdays again at The City Apartments -- formerly the old University City shopping center.

I know some of you may disagree with me -- especially everyone at the Vettes, Rods, and Classics show in August when a monsoon passed through Gahanna during the awards ceremony. But I thought the weather wasn't as big a factor this season as in prior years. Out of the hundreds of events scheduled only 15 were canceled or postponed becasue of weather. And most were postponed to a later date.

Speaking of postponed. Thanks to a forecast that turned out to be totally wrong (big surprise), the Performance Charity Car Show in downtown Delaware, Ohio was postponed from July to October. And boy did that turn out to be a good move. The weather on the October date was about as perfect as one could expect for a car show. The organizers liked the October date such much, they've decided to hold the 2022 show in October.

Top Ten:

At the end of every season, I post my ten favorite vehicles I saw at a show or cruise-in. Here are the ones that made me stop and take a second, third, or sometimes fourth look.

No. 10 - 2016 EZ Go Golf Cart model "Tow Mater" - Owner: Julie Brown


No. 9 - 1937 Humber Pullman Limo - Owner: Ryan Patten

No. 8 - Restomod 1969 Chevy Camaro - Owner: Unknown

No. 7 - 1959 Desoto Fireflite Sportsman - Owner: Kaylee Bickel

No. 6 - 1950's Jaguar XK 120 Coupe - Owner: Unknown

No 5. - 1947 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan - Owner: Clement Thurn

No 4. - Restomod 1967 Chevy Camaro - Owner: Ed Stizza

No. 3. - 1962 Dodge Dart - Owner: Steve Brown

No. 2 - 1948 Chevy Pickup - Owner: Sam Parks

No. 1 - Legends of Rock Custom Built Motorcycle - Owner: Unknown

Favorite Photos:

Take 5500 photos and there's bound to be some favorites. Here are the ones that I think best capture the season.

Click or tap on a photo to enlarge and enter slideshow mode.

Final Thoughts:

2021 turned out to be another great year for car events in Central Ohio. Because of the reduced number of events in 2020, the sheer volume of events this season was staggering. There were a lot of Saturdays with more than 15 events on the schedule.

What I really enjoyed most about this year was the opportunity to get to know many members of the car community a little better. The people you meet and the friends you make are the main reasons car cruises are so special.

2021 also gave me a sneak peek at the future. The next generation of car enthusiasts is alive and well. They may not seek awards like our generation. And their autos may not be Chevys, Fords or Dodges, but they're proud of their rides and they like to hang out and talk cars just like we do. And that's what counts.

I want to take a moment to thank some folks who helped me compile the weekly reports. They reported on shows I didn't or couldn't attend (I still haven't figured out how to be in multiple places at once). Without their help the weekly News and Notes would not have been anywhere near as detailed.

My sincerest thanks goes out to:

  • Jeff Shankle - I know for a fact he took more car photos than I did
  • Dale Pearce - If Dale doesn't know about a show, it ain't happening
  • Dave Bratton - Great resource for show information
  • Mark & Cathy Krist - Did a great job of reporting in between planting and harvesting vegetables.
  • Dan Varner - Seems have the scoop before anyone else.

Unless there's some late-breaking news to report, I'm going to take some time off to recharge. I'm leaving for Florida at the end of December. I'll be back just in time for the start of the 2022 car show season. Look for the first installment of "Save the Dates for 2022" sometime in February. The list is already growing.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Holiday season. I look forward to seeing everyone again next year.

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Published on
1959 Chevy Corvette
Owner: Jerry Galbreath

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.

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.

6

Published on 6 Comments on Central Ohio Car Events for August 30 to September 6, 2021
1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Owner: Greg Dresbach

Another month of the season is in the books. Only two and half months of events left for this year.

This week's list includes events scheduled on Labor Day, and boy is this holiday weekend packed. The 10-day forecast calls for cooler temperatures. Let's hope it's accurate.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Der Dutchman Cruise-In:

Although a drop of rain never fell on the Der Dutchman Restaurant in Plain City, Ohio Thursday evening, the weather around the area kept attendance down to 77 cars. I got caught in a downpour driving through Dublin, Ohio on my way to the cruise-in. My black Camaro needs a thorough washing this week as it's a mess.

Jay Vanscoy Car Show:

The Hilliard, Ohio Church of Christ hosted the first Annual Jay Vanscoy Car Show on Saturday. The show is a memorial to Jay Vanscoy, the son of Senior Minister Danny Vanscoy. Jay passed away in January.

The show registered 55 cars. The registration fee was $15 and included a tee-shirt, a very nice "goodie" bag, and a door prize raffle ticket.

The Church presented three awards, People's Choice, Preacher's Pick, and Best of Show. Here are the award-winning cars. See a common theme here?

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
1937 Ford Convertible
Owner: Dave Bratton
PREACHER'S PICK AWARD
1957 Chevy Bel Air Convertible
Owner: William Erlenbach
BEST OF SHOW AWARD
1964 Chevy Corvette Convertible
Owner: Bill Hammer

To see more cars from the Jay Vanscoy Car Show, click here.

Plain City Classic Car Cruise-In:

Chapman Ford and the Uptown Plain City Organization hosted their 18th annual Plain City Classic Car Cruise-In in downtown Plain City, Ohio Saturday afternoon.

The event registered 135 vehicles. Ribbons were presented to the Top 40 cars. There were several special award trophies and a Best of Show.

This year's Best of Show Award went to Dave and Jane Winkle and their 1958 Chevy Corvette convertible.

Krieger Ford Mustang & Ford Car Show:

The Mustang Club of Ohio and Krieger Ford held their 47th Annual ALL Mustang and Ford Car Show on Sunday at the Krieger Ford Dealership in Columbus, Ohio.

As a Camaro and Corvette owner, the hour and a half I was at the show taking photos was tough on me, but for the good of the Central Ohio car community, I managed to hang in there long enough to get some nice photos.

In all seriousness, I saw a lot of very nice cars. By my unofficial count, there were between 125 and 130 cars registered. If you're into Mustangs and Fords or just cars in general, Krieger Ford was the place to be Sunday afternoon.

There was no overall Best of Show winner. Each Mustang and Ford was entered into a class based on model year, model, and mods. Awards were presented to the top cars in each class based on points.

Click here to see more cars from the Mustang and Ford show.

14th Annual Car Show at Culp Lake:

The car show at Culp Lake in Springfield, Ohio attracted 144 cars on Sunday. The show is in a park-like setting so there were plenty of trees around to escape some of the heat.

Other Area Shows:

  • Bob Pool Orphan Car Show in Yellow Springs, Ohio registered 98 cars on Saturday
  • Moundbuilders Motor Mania in Newark on Sunday had 68 cars participate in the show
  • Another big turn out for Columbus Cars and Coffee at Esoteric. Watch on YouTube.

If you have any information about other shows that took place this past weekend, please feel free to post them in the comments section.

Many thanks to Arch Mayer and Jeff Shankle for helping make this week's report.

Because of the holiday on Monday, next week's list of events will be posted on Tuesday.

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.

2

Published on 2 Comments on Central Ohio Car Events for June 28 to July 4, 2021
2011 Dodge Charger RT AWD
Owner: Tony Parker

We close out another month of the season this week. Lots of events are on tap for the Fourth of July weekend. The big event will be the Firecracker July 4th Show in Urbana, Ohio. It will draw between 400 and 700 cars depending on the weather.

NEWS AND NOTES:

The First Friday event in downtown Delaware, Ohio is reserving the same block again this weekend for classic cars. Cars are asked to arrive between 5 PM and 6 PM. No cars will be allowed in after 6 PM, and no cars will be allowed to leave prior to 9 PM. This is first come first serve so if you're interested in participating, get there early.

The cruise-in at the Der Dutchman Restaurant in Plain City, Ohio had another big Thursday evening. Close to 60 Cobras from the Cobra Show in London, Ohio showed up at the cruise-in. Overall attendance for the evening topped 390 cars.

To see more photos from Thursday's Der Dutchman Cruise-In, click Here.

Dan "Boots" Longenette and the Auto Smart Radio crew hosted the first-ever car show at The Point at Otterbein in Westerville, Ohio on Saturday. The show registered 57 cars.

One of the unique things offered by The Point was a canvas print of your vehicle from a favorite photo for $20. Our good friend, Dale Pearce, took advantage of the offer and had a print made of his truck. The end result turned out fantastic.

The Best of Show Award went to Jeff Fortner and his 1971 Buick GSX. Jeff's Buick has been on a "Hot Steak" lately. This is the third week in a row his car has received a well deserved top award.

If you've ever been to an Auto Smarts Radio show, you know Boots gives out a lot of "Category" awards. Click here to see some of the "Category" winners from the show.

Here are attendance numbers for some of the other area shows from this past weekend.

  • Surgergrove (Friday) - registered 80 cars
  • Marengo Methodist Church (Saturday) - registered 43 cars
  • Whitehall Church of the Nazarene (Sunday) - registered 60 cars.
Central Ohio Forecast
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Weather forecast Columbus, Ohio ▸

Published on
1946 Ford Pickup
Owner: Jack Powers

We start the fourth month of the season this week. Two car shows in Marion, Ohio and two Columbus Cars and Coffee meets highlight this week's list of events.

NEWS AND NOTES:

The weather during the first part of the Memorial day weekend played havoc with a number of events. Several were canceled or postponed. Those events that did brave the rain and cold temperatures obviously had less turnout than expected.

One of those shows that braved the weather on Saturday was Pepsi’s Auto Smarts Cruise and Ride at Ten Pin Alley in Hilliard, Ohio. Our friend Dale Pearce and his 1950 Chevy 3100 pickup truck took the Best of Show award.

With improving weather on Sunday, the Moonshine Festival Car, Truck and Bike Show in New Straitsville, Ohio registered 83 vehicles. The car show associated with the swap meet in Springfield, Ohio had 45-50 cars in attendance.

With almost Ideal weather by Monday, Big Dawg and the C-Town Cruisers registered 120 cars at the American Legion Southway Post 144 Memorial Day Meet in Columbus. A lot of cars showed up at the event but didn’t register. By all guestimates, there may have been close to 200 cars at the Southway Post Monday afternoon.

The Best of Show award went to Kevin Foust and his 1941 Dodge WC 40.

Just when you thought June couldn’t get any busier, four more events were announced last week. This makes the total number of June events in Central Ohio at 47 right now not counting the ongoing shows and cruise-ins.

Central Ohio Forecast
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Weather forecast Columbus, Ohio ▸

Published on
1966 Chevy Corvette
Owner: Ty Vickers

I always consider the first weekend in April the “official” start of the Central Ohio car show season. Some may argue it starts in March but I consider those March events to be more like a Preseason.

Here is the first weekly list of Central Ohio events for the 2021 season. These weekly lists will be posted on Monday or Tuesday from now until the end of November. If you would like to receive email notification when the list is posted, please click the “Subscribe” link in the page header above. Rest assured, we DO NOT sell email addresses to marketers so you won’t get more spam mail if you subscribe.

News and Notes:

On Friday evening, both the inaugural Marysville Muscle Cruise-In and Spring Car and Bike Show at Tony’s Bar and Grill in London, Ohio had good turnouts for early season shows.

The Spring show in London registered around 45 vehicles. The Best of Show award went to this Ghost Busters-themed Dodge Challenger.

Due to the recent behavior of some attendees, the organizers of Cars and Coffee at Lennox Town Center have decided to CANCEL the Saturday morning meets indefinitely. They hope to be back in the fall with new plans. Here’s their Facebook post. There are always some bad actors that spoil the fun for everyone.

Central Ohio Forecast
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6:06 am8:52 pm EDT
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88/59°F
90/63°F
91/64°F
91/66°F
88/63°F
Weather forecast Columbus, Ohio ▸

18

Published on 18 Comments on USA Days Car Show: Second Week for Double Awards

For the second week in a row, several cars received double awards. This time it was at the Heart of Ohio USA Days Car Show in Centerburg, Ohio.

The show presented metal signs to the Top 100 cars along with four special awards.

Two of the special award winners also received Top 100 awards. As I've said many times before, giving cars multiple awards is a great way to kill future attendance at your show.

And speaking of attendance, the event on Sunday registered 250 vehicles.

That's down from 387 last year but not bad considering there was a discussion at last year's award presentation that the 2018 show might be the last. I know flyers for this year's show didn't appear until the middle of August, less than a month before the event.

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For the first weekend in April, there wasn't much to complain about weather-wise. The rain on Friday moved out of the area by late morning leaving a cool but dry remainder of the day. Saturday saw almost near perfect car show weather with partly cloudy skys and high's reaching the low 70's.

I have reports from three events that took place over the weekend -- two I attended and one that some good friends participated in .

The Vintage Auto Club of Delaware First Friday

The first event was The Vintage Auto Club of Delaware's First Friday cruise-in at Freddy's restaurant on Route 23 just south of Delaware, Ohio.

The club holds a monthly cruise-in at the restaurant location the first Friday of each month from April through October.

About 25 vehicles showed up for their first cruise-in of the season. A nice crowd of spectators was also on hand throughout the evening.

The club sold raffle tickets for door prizes and and 50/50 drawing. All proceeds go to support Hospice of Delaware. Our good friend, Tim Inscho, won the 50/50 raffle and generously donated his winnings back to the club.

It was great to finally get the cars and trucks back on the road and reacquaint with good friends after what seemed like the longest winter in history.

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Published on 1 Comment on Richwood Bank Has Them Parking on the Grass

The Saturday morning cruise-in at the Richwood Bank in Delaware, Ohio had such a good turn out that parking had to be extended to the grass areas surrounding the bank.  The bi-monthly cruise-in saw more than 43 cars and trucks drop in during the three-hour event.

Some really outstanding vehicles made an appearance this month. Continue reading

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