Don Baker, the event coordinator, said they wanted a way to get more members and a younger membership for the car club and for a way to celebrate the club’s 60th anniversary.
“We decided with our car club having a 60th anniversary, we should do something big, so we tried to combine all these events under one roof,” Baker said. “I started out with the car show and the block party and parade, but not here and one of the other club members said let’s have it at the airport and one of the board members said let’s have wings-n-wheels since it’ll be at the airport.”
The Wings-n-Wheels celebration featured a parade/car parade, a car show, a vintage plane display, a block party, chicken barbecue, give-a-ways, vendors, 50/50 raffle and a Chinese auction.
The fireworks that were scheduled were canceled due to insufficient funds.
The proceeds are going to the James A. Brennan Memorial Humane Society and to Fulton County food pantries.
The car show featured antiques, street rods, classics, gen-xers, modern muscle, trucks, tuners, corvettes and bikes.
As this was the first of the event, attendance was low, but picked up with the car show.
“The turnout was light spectator-wise,” Baker said. “We think the heat had something to do with that, but there’s also other activities and other events going on today.”
Baker said he would like to do the celebration again next year to make it an annual event, but would change some things. He said he would either do a smaller event, or keep it the same size, but possibly hold it on a different date and not on July 4. He said if it is just as hot next year, there will be a light turnout again.
“But we’re going to try and after we’re done with this we’re going to get together and figure out how we can improve it,” Baker said. “Should we move it to a different date, should we call it something different, should we not have airplanes and not be in the airport. We have a lot of questions to answer, [because] we’d like to do something every year.”
Those who did attend the event enjoyed seeing the vintage cars and planes. Some also liked that there was an event to attend in the area on the 4th of July.
“We both enjoy the antique cars and the planes, it’s something that as a family we have enjoyed doing since we were kids,” said Beth Brandon. “We enjoy being able to have it here in town. Having it local is just pretty cool, we don’t have to travel as far. I think just having an event on the fourth that we can enjoy as a family is pretty awesome.”
