CUT fathers day car show:

Want TO GO?

What: Central Indiana Vintage Vehicles’ 31st annual Father’s Day Car Show.

When: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, registration for cars 9 a.m. to noon.

Where: Forest Park, 701 Cicero Road, Noblesville.

How much: Free to spectators, $10 to enter a car. Eligible cars must be built prior to 1994 or may be customized or altered. Entries must be built prior to 1997 or be customized or altered. Dash plaques to the first 200 entries.

What else? The Veterans of Foreign Wars Colorguard will present the colors at noon to officially open the car show. Music from the ‘50s to the ‘70s, drawings, door prizes, food and beverages. Membership in the club is $15 a year, the same as it was in 1988 when the club started.

Info: http://civv.club/index.html Car show, 317-432-3089 or 317-710-2585; The Elysian Foundation,  [email protected], 317-432-3089 or 317-710-2585

HED:

Take Time For Father’s Day Car Show At Park

COL:

For old car enthusiasts, the Father’s Day Car Show at Forest Park is the end-all-be-all of car shows around here.

The 31st annual show, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday — which is expected to be partly cloudy with a high of about 80 F — has grown into the largest single-day event in the history of Forest Park, where about 300 antique, classic and special-interest autos roll in and park under the shade trees for the day.

The event annually attracts about 8,000 to 10,000 people to the park that day, according to Noblesville Parks Department.

Add disc-jockey music from the ’50s and ’60s, plus food and beverages sold by Noblesville Lions Club, and a lot of swapping of car stories, and you have a pretty fun day. Especially for Dad.

“I just love the atmosphere of Forest Park. I love old cars and to have 200 to 300 cars show up for our show is a real thrill. It’s also the only day I can listen to oldies rock ‘n’ roll from 8:30 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon and get away with it,” said Larry Grabb of Noblesville.

Where else can you drool over old cars, dance to your favorite song and enjoy a day at the park?

Grabb said it’s fun hearing folks point out a car like their mom or dad drove when they were young, or a car that was just like their first car.

“You can always make sure it’s the perfect gift for Dad, because dads always love something like this, whether they’re car crazy or not,” said Grabb, a dad himself.

Noblesville car enthusiasts and members of Central Indiana Vintage Vehicles, Grabb and Dave Shank Sr. head up the car show. Shank owns a 1954 Chrysler, and Grabb owns a 1967 Buick Skylark, and will be bringing that car along with his 1969 American Motors AMX. “I bought this car new when I returned from overseas more than 50 years ago,” Grabb said.

Grabb also deejays for the car show. This year, he’s doing half of the deejay responsibilities. His son, William, is doing the other half. “He’s a real chip off the old block and a real help.” Grabb said occasionally people at the car show will stop at the deejay booth and ask him about a certain car.

Shank, of Noblesville, said strolling the car show stirs memories for just about any dad.

“You will hear his stories about the great cars that he owned in his life and what fun they were to own and drive,” he has said. “It is like a trip down memory lane with the music of those past years blowing through the trees. Dad and family will have a great time and many more memories until next year.”

CIVV, a 33-year-old nonprofit that puts on the Car Show, donates all of its profits to The Elysian Foundation, a home-based care program that uses the money to benefit those in our community who are severely brain-damaged or who have other disabilities. Linda O’Dell co-founded The Elysian Foundation with her husband, Jim O’Dell, and daughter Tamela Grabb, wife of Larry Grabb, all of Noblesville.

The car club adopted The Elysian Foundation for its charity and has raised about $67,000 for use in assisting clients at Normal Life of Sheridan, a residential facility for the severely brain injured. The O’Dells’ son, who died nine years ago, lived at Normal Life.  “Elysian” is “a Greek word that means “state or place of perfect happiness.”

During the day, the car club will give out awards, Best of Show, Best Interior, Best Paint and Best Engine, plus 10 more awards with winners determined by drawing 10 numbers from among all entries. There are dash plaques for the first 200 entries.

This is a show with the focus on showing cars, having fun, raising money for charity and providing a unique entertainment alternative for all dads to enjoy on Father’s Day.

Cost to sponsor an award is $25, or $50, for a “Best of” trophy. “This is truly where the “rubber meets the road,” Shank has said. He is seeking sponsors every year at this time and appreciates everyone’s involvement.

Entry per car on Sunday is $10. Spectators have free admission.

The Saturday-Night Cruise-Ins on the Hamilton County Courthouse Square is another of CIVV’s events. In June 2000, when Great American Race chose Noblesville as one of its one-time-only overnight stops during a cross-country race, the CIVV sponsored a Welcome Car Show Reception, thanks to then Noblesville Mayor Mary Sue Rowland, who helped make the connections. As a result, the Great Race committee chose Noblesville as its “Best Stop Ever” and awarded $5,000 to Noblesville Library.

The Saturday-Night-Cruise-Ins are about 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. every Saturday, mid-May to mid-November, around the Courthouse Square, weather permitting. See ya there!

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact The Times Editor Betsy Reason at [email protected].