Members of a local charitable car club are gearing up to restart an activity that’s been on the backburner for nearly two years.
The Apple Country Auto Club will restart its monthly cruise-ins this month at a new site, Poole’s Bar-B-Q in East Ellijay. Cruise-ins will be held there from 5-8 p.m. the second Friday of each month through September.
“The first one will be an early Father’s Day celebration sponsored by (automotive publication) Hemming’s Motor News,” noted Ronnie Prater, club president. The car club will have dash plaques to give to the first 50 cars that show up to that Friday, June 11, cruise-in, Prater noted.
Anybody is welcome to bring a car to show at the events where automobile enthusiasts line up their vehicles and talk shop. It doesn’t have to be a hot rod or classic car, Prater confirmed. Spectators are welcome to stop by and check out the cars, he noted.
“It’s for all vehicles and anybody who wants to come. It’s just an ongoing thing. People can go in and eat if they take a notion to. We’ll have a DJ, Dwight Sanford, and we’ll probably have a 50/50 drawing, too,” Prater said.
Apple Country Auto cruise-ins were held at various locations around town prior to the pandemic, but it was hard for the club to find a long-term location.
“We hadn’t had them in several years, then we started back in July 2018. This will be the first time we’ve had one since September 2019. After then, COVID hit and that was the end of it,” Prater noted.
“This will also be the first time we’ve had them on Friday evenings. We had them on Saturdays before, but so many people went to car shows on Saturdays we’d be short on cars,” he added.
The new location will provide ample room to line up cars, as well as a nearby dining option for eventgoers.
“It’s going to work really well there because they’ve got the park and ride right across the street. We’re going to fill that up first,” said Prater.
Carowners who bring a vehicle to show and register at the cruise-in will receive a 20 percent discount on their meal, he noted.
“We’ll have somebody with table set up when they get there. They’ll write their name down on a card and they can tear the bottom off and take it inside,” said Prater.
The car club is also planning to have its biggest annual event and fundraiser, the Apple Classic Car Show, this year. The long-running car show, held in conjunction with the Georgia Apple Festival, was also sidelined last year due to the pandemic and cancellation of the festival.
“It will be the first Saturday of the Apple Festival at Ronnie Thompson Ford,” Prater confirmed.
Proceeds from that car show help the club in its year-end charitable efforts, which benefit several local organizations. Past club donation recipients include Gilmer DFCS, the local community food pantry and the Kids Ferst childhood literacy program.