Gilmer County’s Apple Country Auto Club will steer its biggest annual event at a new location this year.
The club will hold its Apple Classic Auto Show Saturday, Oct. 8, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Vehicle registration will be from 8 a.m.-noon.
A longrunning sister event to the Georgia Apple Festival, the car show was previously held at Ronnie Thompson Ford. One advantage of moving to the new Christian Center is that it will allow for better parking, noted Ronnie Prater, car club president.
“There will be more spectator parking and truck and trailer parking (for show car owners) that we didn’t have before,” Prater said.
There will also be enough room to show more than 300 vehicles. The car show is free to attend and open to the public, Prater said. The registration fee to show a vehicle is $25 day of show and $20 if preregistered.
Past Apple Classic shows have featured an array of vehicles including vintage and modern cars, trucks and motorcycles. Car show proceeds after expenses go toward the club’s year-end charitable contributions, which help several local nonprofits and community service organizations.
“Whenever we go to out-of-town car shows, we always pass out fliers to get the word out. We’ve passed out 1,100 fliers at various car shows, and we’ve got about 200 more left to pass out,” Prater said.
It doesn’t have to be a vintage hot rod to be shown at the Apple Classic, Prater confirmed. “All vehicles are welcome. The first 100 registered cars get a dash plaque,” he added.
The daylong show will also feature raffle prize giveaways, a 50/50 cash drawing and $5 lunch combos, all of which are also fundraisers for the club’s charitable efforts. Concessions will be available in the Christian Center’s gymnasium, Prater said.
“We’re giving away a 55-inch Roku TV and some Milwaukee power tools (as raffle prizes). We’ll also have popcorn and desserts,” he added.
Prater said the car club will be giving out almost twice as many awards to vehicle owners this year.
“In the past, we’ve had the top 50 cars and 10 best of awards like Best Ford, Best GM, Best Truck and so on. This year, we’re going to do the top 60 cars, top 25 trucks and 16 best ofs, which is 101 awards,” he added.
The car club is hoping this year’s show will be bigger and better with a larger turnout, both in the number of cars shown and spectators stopping by to check them out.
Victory Christian Center is located at the corner of Maddox Drive and Victory Circle.
“If you’re going north (on Highway 515), turn left at the second light. If you’re going south, turn right at the second light. It’ll take you right to it. We’ll have plenty of signs (put out),” Prater said.