BROOKINGS Automobile aficionados of all stripes drivers, collectors, lookers are invited to downtown Brookings on June 14 and to Pioneer Park on June 15 for the annual Brookings Car Show, this one being No. 32. The Brookings Car Club, established in 1992, put on its first show the next year.
The second full weekend in June has seen Brookings filled with hot rods, muscle cars and trucks since 1993, BCC President Christopher Gross said. Were hoping all the surrounding area car enthusiasts will be looking forward to getting their cars, trucks and motorcycles out and attending the show to visit with friends and all the other people you meet at a car show.
It all starts June 14 with a poker run to benefit Special Olympics of South Dakota/Brookings. Registration goes from noon to 1 p.m. at Nicks Hamburger Shop downtown; riders then roll and hands will be drawn at 4 p.m. at the Blue Goose in Volga.
Following the run, the riders return to Brookings for the Downtown Drive In from 5 to 9 p.m. The 300 block of Fourth Street between Main and Third avenues will be closed off so folks can bring their ride down and hang out with other car, truck and motorcycle aficionados, collectors and lookers and maybe visit the nearby watering holes and eateries. Some of the downtown establishments in the area will be offering specials.
Come June 15, its Show and Shine time in Pioneer Park. There is no entry fee. Registration is from 9 to 11:30 a.m. (Enter at the east end of the park.) And show-time then goes until 4 p.m. Park goers can look forward to a pepped-up show. There will be no cost to enter a vehicle and participation plaques will be given to the first 200 entrants in the show.
For those looking to chow down, there will be food vendors onsite: Shortys Hot Box and Backyard Grill.
It has been a stale event for several years, BCC board member Rick Eggebrecht noted. But the past two years weve implemented a lot of changes that have turned out to be well-received: No more fees to enter, as the shows expenses are covered by local sponsors; no more judging.
This year were also having a live rockabilly band Big Bad and the Wolves that will play from 1 to 3 (p.m.) on Sunday. And Kids Pedal-Car races are to be scheduled. Also, Benny Johnson (Bennys Rod Shop), a graphic artist from Wilmar, Minnesota, will be pin-striping and painting graphics on vehicles Saturday and Sunday.
Looking out to the future, Eggebrecht added, Our goal is to grow from 220 vehicles in 2024 to 500 vehicles in 2028, making this a great weekend for Brookings and a solid revenue stream for the community.
Show em and drive em
Andrew Austreim, 45, owner and operator of Austreim Excavating and an auto aficionado with 14 vehicles in his collection will be showing off some of them for the first time at this years show. He admitted to never taking his autos to a Brookings Car Show.
I always felt that my cars are more of a and I drive them. None of his cars have historic plates: People ask me why I dont. I think cars should be driven. His oldest vehicle? Technically a 1950 Chevy pickup; but its got a modern drive train. Add to that a 1966 Mustang and a 1966 Chevelle.
About two years ago he bought a 1986 Monte Carlo SS, all original, 16,000 original miles from a classic car dealer in Tea. The dealer was ready to put it on a trailer to be taken back to Brookings; Austreim surprised him when he told him he would drive it back.
What the heck good is a car if you cant drive it? I didnt buy this car just to look at it in the driveway.
He drives all his cars. When not being driven, theyre garaged; however, he has to move them around in storage and stack them in a sort of rotating fashion.
And putting them in the car show? Hes one of the sponsors of this years show. He is also part of an informal group the Old Souls that cruise their cars into Pioneer Park on Friday evening for a sort of show em-off-and-chat gathering.
Theres a big push this year (for the Brookings Car Show), he noted . They want to get the numbers up.
Austreim sees the Old Souls bringing some new blood to the Brookings Car Club: They are all about in-progress, just pulled it out of the weeds, whatever you have. If its old and clunky or bright and shiny, if its got a motor and has any number of wheels under it, youre part of the group.
Right after high school, I went to school to be an auto mechanic, Austreim said, recalling the roots of his affection for automobiles. My idea of being a mechanic was changing engines and transmissions and working at a dealership where youre using a multi-meter, testing circuits and programing software; that was 20-some years ago.
I cant imagine what its like now. It kind of killed that passion doing that for a living. I came back and worked landscaping for a little bit. That wasnt really my thing, so I got into moving dirt. Thats kind of a whole other thing.
Excavating was successful and afforded him enough income to buy a toy, so to speak. I kind of started getting older cars and I liked to pop the hood and see whats under there.
Smiling, Austreim said, I tell people it takes me back to a simpler time, back when the only thing I had to drive was something with a carburetor and I had to pump the gas pedal and hope it would start. I longed to be able to afford something with fuel injection. Then after thats all you have for awhile, you get to thinking, You know I miss that that feel, the smell of the gas.
Growing up, he was diehard Chevrolet or GM. As I started buying different things, I kind of got bored with popping the hood and they were all kind of the same. So I expanded out a little bit: I have a Dodge Demon and a (1966) Ford Mustang. Ive got one Dodge, one Chrysler, one Ford.
Everybody thought I was crazy when I bought that Mustang.
I dont get that much enjoyment out of sitting here and looking at this pristine car, Austreim said. However, he added, Not that I want a bunch of nicks and scratches and dings and dents but something thats got a little character; I like a car that has the look of what it looked like in its prime. I think the car scene in Brookings is growing. I think that people are getting excited about it because theyre seeing more people out and about.
And the facebook page, where people are posting what theyre working on and things like that inspires more people to, You know what, I need to get off my butt and get grandpas truck out and get it going again, and things like that.
Contact John Kubal at [email protected].
Leave a Reply