Ten blocks in downtown Henderson are going to be transformed into a gigantic combination parking lot and entertainment zone for car enthusiasts this weekend when the Show, Shine, Shag & Dine festival gets the green light for all to come and enjoy.
This is the 20th annual event, and Vance County Tourism Director Pam Hester and a host of others spoke with John C. Rose on Monday’s TownTalk to provide details.
For starters, race cars are coming back to downtown Henderson, and volunteer Danny Stanton said he is very pleased to be able to help with this aspect of the car show.
“I’ve been a drag racer, a car guy, pretty much my whole life,” Stanton said. “We want to get the drag cars back involved,” he said. Drag car owners don’t have to pay a registration fee, he said, since they will not be judged. Just show up Saturday morning at the corner of Rose and Chestnut streets and Stanton and others will help get the cars off their trailers and parked for viewing at Montgomery and Garnett streets.
But the event actually kicks off on Friday morning at 11 a.m. with a cruise-in at Satterwhite Point. Frankie Nobles is catering a barbecue and chicken lunch, with all the trimmings. A second cruise-in will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Charles Bowman’s Southern Classic Cars on Horner Street.
There will be a DJ providing music at each cruise-in, Hester said, adding that there have been up to 150 cars at the lake for the lunchtime event.
Bowman said he’s helped with previous car shows, and he enjoys having folks come in and admire his cars. There are cars for sale there, but that’s not the main reason Bowman participates; rather, he said he wants “to entice people to come to the car show.”
No matter what type of car you prefer, there surely will be something for everyone at this year’s Show, Shine, Shag & Dine. The event is free to the public, and folks can stroll along Garnett Street and beyond to see everything from classic cars to drag racers to Corbitt trucks.
Tom Burleson said the Corbitt Preservation Association will have vehicles on display conveniently located near the Corbitt Museum, which will be open on Saturday for visitors. The winner of the raffle prizes also will be announced during the car show awards, he said.
“We appreciate the exposure that will give us,” he said.
Downtown retailer Gear & Beer is having a Jeep Jam for all those Jeep enthusiasts who want to drive their Jeeps in to the parking lot at the United Way office on South Garnett Street. Jeeps of any type are welcome. And though it’s not a part of the car contest, there will be fun awards given during the Jeep Jam.
McKinley Perkinson is Vance County’s Economic Development Directo and she called this weekend’s event “a huge economic stimulator and driver,” no pun intended.
“An event like this is just amazing for Henderson, especially for our downtown businesses,” Perkinson said.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.
Contact Danny Stanton at 252.432.5544 for all race car information and Carol Terwilliger of Gear & Beer for Jeep signup information at gearandbeernc.com
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