Published June 10, 2008 06:51 pm -
Car show set to draw crowds this weekend
By Wendy Burton
Times Correspondent
Family fun, cruising, food and more can be found at the 14th Annual Fort Gibson Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show on Friday and Saturday.
The show is “one of the best in the area,” said Gary Perkins, executive director of the Fort Gibson Chamber of Commerce.
He estimates several thousand people attend the show each year to see the 150 to 200 entries.
Ruben Kisner of Fort Gibson plans to show his 1999 Harley-Davidson 1200 Custom Sportster on Saturday.
His bike was one of the top two motorcycles in the Cruis'n Angels Car Show in Muskogee last month.
Kisner said that show was his first, but he hopes to take home a prize on Saturday with his polished chrome and unique accessories.
“When it comes down to the judging, they look at it real close,” he said.
New to this year’s car show is the loud exhaust competition sponsored by Fort Gibson Tire and Wheel.
According to the Web site, www.fortgibsoncarshow.com, “Contestants will be able to uncap their headers and show the crowd what they got.”
The Keith True Value Hardware Nostalgia Kruise begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday, and includes door prizes donated by local merchants and one $500 cash prize for registered competitors.
Also Friday evening is the burnout competition. At this event, competitors put bald tires on the back of their vehicles and “burn rubber,” creating smoke and sometimes even blowing a tire.
Scott Atkinson, owner of Scott's Pharmacy in Fort Gibson, said the burnout is becoming as big an event as the car show itself.
“It's a real crowd pleaser,” he said.
Atkinson, a member of the car show committee since its inception 14 years ago, said it began when a group of car enthusiasts who had coffee together every morning at a local restaurant came up with the idea to put on a small car show.
He remembers they first planned to have the show at the military park. However, when they received 35 early entries for the show, they realized they'd outgrown that area. The committee ended up having the show in Jerry Spencer's parking lot in town.