By Paula Scott
The 55th annual Festival of Wheels will be showcased on Bluffton’s Main Street this upcoming Friday, June 16. Coordinator Dan Groman notes that last year the Bluffton Lions Club show was literally 2 spaces from full capacity, so in 2023 the event will extend onto Elm St and along Main to Jefferson.
Main St. will close at 1:00 p.m.; registration is from 2:00-5:00 p.m. The event will be held rain or shine.
Judging of cars begins at 5:00 p.m. with trophies for the Top 25 and special awards presented at 7:30 p.m. Judges will rate entries individually, then scores will be tallied by computer. The cruise down S. Main St. begins at 8:00 p.m.
Vendors will have food and drink, including Bubba C’s barbecue, which will be located next to Town Hall.
Participants can register at the show. Advance registration ended on May 31. Groman expects more tractors than in the past, as well as a variety of antique and classic cars, trucks, fire engines and motorcycles.
This is officially the show’s 55th year, but Bluffton has a history of car shows that extends earlier than that. At one time, Bluffton car shows extended over two and half days. In 1967 Pioneer Auto Club and Contemporary Vehicle Association combined to host a national event in Bluffton. Groman remembers a woman who brought her 1941 Chevy from Sacramento, California.
Now the Festival of Wheels is one of many area car shows including the monthly Bluffton Cars and Coffee gathering that takes place on the fourth Saturday of the month, May-October, at 902 N. Main St. (Masterpiece Signs & Graphics). Participants come from Ohio, Indiana and Michigan.
Groman says that the current emphasis is on the muscle cars of the 1960s and ‘70s. He notes that this used to be a “purist” show, but that this has changed.
The 8:00 p.m. parade of cars will not have a police escort; drivers are requested to follow all rules of the road.
Major sponsors for the 2023 Festival of Wheels:
AAA Auto Club
Bike Crazy
Bluffton Aeration
Bluffton Aviation
Bluffton Comfort Inn
Bluffton Stone Company
Bluffton Boy Scout Troop 256
Bluffton High School Football Team
Book Reviews
Citizens National Bank
CCR, Realtors Lisa Wenger & Kelli Blackburn
Henry's Restaurant (Ottawa)
D&J Golf Carts
Dough Hook
KOI Auto Parts,
Leiber's Garage
PromoHits Ltd.
Diller's Flooring & Interiors
Richard and Corrine Boehr
Shirley's Popcorn
Edward Jones - Ryan DeMarco
Et Cetera Shop
Springfield Fireworks
Stoney's Barber Shop
Ed Reichenbach State Farm
Family Eye Care Clinic
Edward Jones - Brandon Blackford
Greenhorn Restaurant
Tommy Tire Sales
U.A.W. Local 1327
