Local car clubs still determining whether they will host car shows, cruise-ins

Classic car enthusiasts look forward to annual car shows and cruise-ins but due to COVID-19, none of those have happened this year.

Ken Lindemier with the Corn County Cruisers in Washington said by now the club would have conducted a couple of events but due to virus concerns, none of those have come to fruition.

'We just canceled the first two that we had for May and June because of the virus,” he said, adding the club is following the lead of national car shows which have also canceled.

Just north of Washington, Iowa City has also canceled it's annual show, he said. No decision has been made yet about July, but safety is the number one concern.

'It's not worth somebody's life walking around and looking at cars,” he said.

The desire to have the show is there, he said, but with social distancing requiring a six-foot space between people, there is concern about how that would work.

'When you get big crowds it's hard to social distance,” he said. 'I feel bad because we enjoy putting them on and I know a lot of town people like coming down.”

In Fairfield, Steve Beeman with Collector Cars Unlimited said the club has an annual show ever September. However, the board has yet to be able to meet in-person, making it unclear if the show will be held this fall.

'We're having a lot of meetings. Our last two or three have been via group text. At this time of year, months out from our show, it's working OK. The closer we get to go-time, I don't know if this will work or not,” he said.

Club members are currently lining up sponsors now, he said. Because they do not know what the future holds, Beeman said they are 'cautiously proceeding” with the hope things will open up soon and the community will be able to join them on Sept. 20.

In Mt. Pleasant, the second Friday of every month from May to September is host to a cruise-in on the square. 20th Century Car Club member Ed Kropa said the event has been happening for a number of years and is always a big hit. Despite the cruise-in not beginning until around 6 p.m., there are always early birds.

'There's always somebody that shows up at 4,” he said with a laugh.

The May and June cruise-ins have been canceled but there is hope that one will be held in July. Club officers will meet later this week to determine the plan of action moving forward, he said.

'You kind of have to be careful because it's a safety thing. We just don't know what to do,” he said. 'It's a really tough call.”