By Skip Knowles
Once again the streets of Vicksburg will become a trip down memory lane as we welcome thousands of visitors and more than a thousand old cars to our Village. It is always interesting to hear the stories people tell, the memories they have about cars in their lives. Many times, they see a car like they took on their honeymoon, or the first car they remember as a kid and even perhaps their first car. Cars are a part of the American dream and opened up travel to the masses.
The Vicksburg Community Association has hosted the festival from the very first year. It came about when people such as Sue Moore, Mike Wunderlin, Dick Masse and others came together to help the Village which was struggling. The goal was to host an event that would bring people to discover us. Community activities and volunteerism were down and the town needed a reason to give it a little spit and polish.
Historic-vintage vehicles like the Model T, brass era cars, hot rods and special-interest cars will once again find their way to Vicksburg. Friday night will host the cruise in a low-key event to just bring car guys together to put their hoods up and talk cars and share stories. Hundreds of cars are expected to show up Friday as a warm up for the car festival on Saturday.
We are pleased to announce that Larry Garden, a frequent visitor to the car festival, will be bringing a special guest car. It is a 1930 Cadillac 353 Convertible Coupe with a 90-hp V8 and 140” wheelbase. This is an award-winning car and high point restoration. We are extremely happy to have Larry showing this car.
We are also happy to have Darryl Salisbury bringing his 1969 AMX factory promotion vehicle which is a one of a kind and possibly another of his rare AMX promotion cars. For those that don’t know, the AMX was a two-seater produced by American Motors to compete in the muscle car market at that time.
Dutchboys Hot Rods will also have a display of some of their recent projects. We are extremely happy to say that Vicksburg is the home of Dutchboys, an award-winning builder known nationally as one of the best!
We’re also extremely happy this year to be hosting the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo. They play baseball according to the 1860 rules, in vintage uniforms with replica vintage hard balls and with no mitts. They will be playing games at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. against other vintage baseball clubs on the old El field at the corner of Kalamazoo and Washington just down the block from the Fire Station. Stop by and see how baseball began!
Our message to the community is that the Old Car Festival is meant to be a very special day of fun in the Village. From the very first year the message has always been to have a place where people interested in cars can gather and celebrate their hobby and share it with our community. The festival is about life in a small town and the beauty of that.
The outside activities will be much the same as in years past. The Historic Village will have its building and museum open with special displays. The Village will again host the antique tractor, gas and engine show which is always a big hit. Downtown you can view an antiques beer delivery truck and visit the NABA Beer Advertising and Collectible swap meet in the big tent adjoining the entertainment tent.
