Car demonstrate makes West Point the place to go, News
Car demonstrate makes West Point the place to go
THE LAST Fling Till Spring car display comebacks to downtown West Point on Sunday, Sept. 21. Thousands of people attend the annual event, which usually features about six hundred to seven hundred cars, trucks and motorcycles.
Grace Petersen/Daily News
WEST POINT — The Midwest’s largest one-day car demonstrate will draw hundreds of entries to town during the “Last Fling ’til Spring” event Sunday, Sept. 21.
West Point’s main street will be closed to traffic for the day and the cars will also be parked on adjacent streets for admirers to see.
Known as the “home of the monster trophies” and “mile of cars,” this year’s showcase will mark the 25th anniversary of the event. The Road Gems Car Club of West Point sponsors the showcase, which runs from noon to five p.m., with awards to go after. The car demonstrate is free.
West Point Mayor Marlene Johnson has attended most of the shows, including fifteen of the sixteen shows while she has been mayor.
As mayor, one of her duties will be to pick out a car she likes and it award the “mayor’s choice” trophy. Last year, for example, she picked a one thousand nine hundred forty six Mercury convertible.
“I just go with whatever I think is acute looking,” she said. “Once in a while, I go for a particular car, but a lot of times it is just a classic car that looks to be gorgeous. It’s just a lot of joy.”
With the town’s proximity to Omaha, Lincoln and Sioux City, it brings in a lot of entries.
Another thing that has helped bring in the crowds is the way in which the cars can be displayed. The downtown and brick streets make it joy for people to stroll the entire main street and effortless to view the cars.
“It’s a yam-sized boost for a community the size of West Point. To get six hundred to seven hundred cars is unique. And that fact that it is the 25th year also is arousing,” she said.
Johnson said there will be many other activities this weekend to bring people to town.
West Point will host a barn dance on Saturday, Sept. 20, along with a barbecue being billed as a “Barn-B-Que.”
The dance will be in an old-style pony barn donated by the Ruskamp family on the Cuming County Fairgrounds. The Dylan Bloom Band will provide the music, commencing at nine p.m.
Gates will open at five p.m. to the Barn-B-Que, with serving of food from Five:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission to the Barn-B-Que is $20.
The Road Gems had scheduled Richard Rawlings from “Gas Monkey Garage” on the Discovery Channel to attend the showcase. Due to a scheduling conflict, he cannot make it. Instead, Christie Brimberry, who is the office manger at the Dallas hot rod shop, will be attending.
There also will be live music by the Fishheads from one to five p.m. at the beer garden on Main Street on Sunday. The Nielsen Center will host a craft showcase during the event.
There will be a poker run cruise on Saturday, Sept. 20. Registration will be from eleven a.m. to one p.m. in the Roadhouse Lounge in the plaza at the south end of West Point on Highway 275. Live music will be after the run by “John Doe!”
Johnson said she is always amazed with the Road Gems Car Club and its organization of events.
“When the day is all over, Main Street is clean,” she said. “They do a good job of cleaning things up. You would most likely never know that there were 8,000 to Ten,000 people walking up and down the street.”
Car display makes West Point the place to go, News
Car showcase makes West Point the place to go
THE LAST Fling Till Spring car display comes back to downtown West Point on Sunday, Sept. 21. Thousands of people attend the annual event, which usually features about six hundred to seven hundred cars, trucks and motorcycles.
Grace Petersen/Daily News
WEST POINT — The Midwest’s largest one-day car demonstrate will draw hundreds of entries to town during the “Last Fling ’til Spring” event Sunday, Sept. 21.
West Point’s main street will be closed to traffic for the day and the cars will also be parked on adjacent streets for admirers to see.
Known as the “home of the monster trophies” and “mile of cars,” this year’s display will mark the 25th anniversary of the event. The Road Gems Car Club of West Point sponsors the showcase, which runs from noon to five p.m., with awards to go after. The car demonstrate is free.
West Point Mayor Marlene Johnson has attended most of the shows, including fifteen of the sixteen shows while she has been mayor.
As mayor, one of her duties will be to pick out a car she likes and it award the “mayor’s choice” trophy. Last year, for example, she picked a one thousand nine hundred forty six Mercury convertible.
“I just go with whatever I think is acute looking,” she said. “Once in a while, I go for a particular car, but a lot of times it is just a classic car that looks to be gorgeous. It’s just a lot of joy.”
With the town’s proximity to Omaha, Lincoln and Sioux City, it brings in a lot of entries.
Another thing that has helped bring in the crowds is the way in which the cars can be displayed. The downtown and brick streets make it joy for people to stroll the entire main street and effortless to view the cars.
“It’s a fat boost for a community the size of West Point. To get six hundred to seven hundred cars is unique. And that fact that it is the 25th year also is titillating,” she said.
Johnson said there will be many other activities this weekend to bring people to town.
West Point will host a barn dance on Saturday, Sept. 20, along with a barbecue being billed as a “Barn-B-Que.”
The dance will be in an old-style pony barn donated by the Ruskamp family on the Cuming County Fairgrounds. The Dylan Bloom Band will provide the music, beginning at nine p.m.
Gates will open at five p.m. to the Barn-B-Que, with serving of food from Five:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission to the Barn-B-Que is $20.
The Road Gems had scheduled Richard Rawlings from “Gas Monkey Garage” on the Discovery Channel to attend the demonstrate. Due to a scheduling conflict, he cannot make it. Instead, Christie Brimberry, who is the office manger at the Dallas hot rod shop, will be attending.
There also will be live music by the Fishheads from one to five p.m. at the beer garden on Main Street on Sunday. The Nielsen Center will host a craft demonstrate during the event.
There will be a poker run cruise on Saturday, Sept. 20. Registration will be from eleven a.m. to one p.m. in the Roadhouse Lounge in the plaza at the south end of West Point on Highway 275. Live music will be after the run by “John Doe!”
Johnson said she is always affected with the Road Gems Car Club and its organization of events.
“When the day is all over, Main Street is clean,” she said. “They do a good job of cleaning things up. You would most likely never know that there were 8,000 to Ten,000 people walking up and down the street.”
