The Apple Country Auto Club will be firing on all cylinders through spring and summer with another round of their monthly cruise-ins and the return of a car show that’s long been absent from the yearly event lineup.
The cruises-ins will start at the park-and-ride area across from Poole’s Bar-B-Q Friday, April 14, from 5-8 p.m., and continue the second Friday evening of each month through September.
The events have previously seen good turnouts just across Craig Street from the East Ellijay barbecue restaurant, which recently reopened under new ownership.
“(Last year), we filled the parking lot full, and there’s an overflow area there that we usually filled up too,” said Ronnie Prater, Apple Country Auto Club president.
The cruise-ins are opportunities to view up close and show eyecatching automobiles. They are free to attend and open to the public. Classic cars are welcome, but those that are displayed don’t have to be from any specific era, noted Prater.
The first cruise-in of the season will feature a DJ, Dwight Sanford, and cash raffle drawings, noted Prater.
“Poole’s is going to offer the same 20 percent discount for participants who bring a car to show that they previously offered. They will have to register with us to get the 20 percent coupon,” he added.
The car club will bring back its Apple Blossom Auto Show in May. It’s probably been more than 10 years since the club held the last spring car show in the county courthouse parking lot, noted Prater.
“We gave it up and, at some point, Ronnie Thompson Ford took up and then dropped it, so there hasn’t been one in quite some time,” he added.
The car show will be held for the first time at Victory Christian Center Saturday, May 6, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. The car club held their Apple Festival car show there for the first time last year to great results, noted Prater.
“We’ve got a whole full house of members who are gung ho and love to work (at the car show). We did so well at Victory Christian Center, and we loved having it there. Everybody was asking me why don’t we have more than one car show, so now we will,” he added.
Like the Apple Festival show, the Apple Blossom edition will be a fundraiser for the car club’s yearly charitable donations. In 2022, nine local community organizations and nonprofits received almost $10,000 total from the club.
“The fall car show is always our biggest fundraiser. Now, with two shows, hopefully we’ll be able to bump up our contributions a bit,” said Prater.
The Apple Blossom Auto Show will be held in conjunction with the Gilmer Chamber’s Apple Blossom Festival, which is scheduled for May 6-7. It will be open to all vehicles including cars, trucks and motorcycles, Prater noted.
“It’s for anybody and everybody. We don’t have any motorcycle awards, but motorcycles are welcome. The Top 100 award winners will be voted on by the registered car owner themselves, and we’ll also have awards for the Chamber and Victory Christian picks,” he added. “We’ll be having raffles and an auction, and we’ll be serving hot dogs, hamburgers and barbecue.”
The car club also plans to hold a cruise-in for May, which will be at the Poole’s park-and-ride the Friday after the car show, Prater confirmed.