Car enthusiasts have their choice of two specialty shows this weekend - one featuring classic automobiles, the other a show of cars tricked out in startling art and graphic designs.
Art 120 is revving up for its annual Scenic City Art Car Weekend, which begins today and continues through Sunday.
Richard Ballard looks under the hood of a '47 Buick during a previous MainStreet Cleveland Cruise-In.Art 120 is a nonprofit created to enrich Chattanooga through the creation, education and celebration of STE(A)M-based learning. Art cars are vehicles that have had their appearances modified as an act of personal artistic expression. The designs may be done in a variety of mediums. Their artists are sometimes known as cartists.
Here is where to find the art cars this weekend:
» Today, April 27: Art CarAVan to Schools, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Drivers will visit Bess T. Shepherd and Alpine Crest elementary schools.
» Saturday, April 28: Tailgate Party and Art Car Cruise-in on Station Street, adjacent to Chattanooga Choo Choo, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Visitors can check out art cars and meet their artists at this costume party. Vote for which school will take home the Golden Gnome Award and $500 prize courtesy of Rock City Gardens.
» Saturday, April 28: Howard Art Car Fashion Ball, Chattanooga Choo Choo gardens, 1400 Market St., 7-10 p.m.
Howard High School students showcase gowns engineered by students from the Howard Art Department and VWeLab. Students' hair and makeup will feature the work of students in the Howard Cosmetology Department.
For more information about art cars: art120.org.
» MainStreet Cruise-In in Cleveland, Tenn., opens its 17th season Saturday when the classic car show returns to the Cleveland Courthouse square. Show hours are 1 to 6 p.m.
This cruise-in has become a Cleveland tradition and social event. On the afternoon of the fourth Saturday of each month through October, car enthusiasts drive their classic, restored and other special-interest vehicles to Cleveland. Drivers and visitors stroll streets admiring autos lining the streets while music from the 1950s-70s fills the air and enhances the nostalgia. MainStreet's goal is to entice them to stay for dinner in one of the local restaurants or shop local merchants.
Stanley Williams and daughter Taylor check out cars in a prior MainStreet Cruise-in. Cruise-ins start tomorrow and will be held in downtown Cleveland, Tenn., on the fourth Saturday of each month through Oct. 27.Sharon Marr, executive director of MainStreet Cleveland, says the cruise-in has grown by an average of 20 percent in the number of cruisers attending over the past few years.
"Last season, nearly 600 vehicles a month lined the courthouse square and surrounding streets with participants coming from as far away as Florida, Illinois, Texas and Delaware," says Marr.
A swap meet is held in the parking lot on Broad Street south of Inman Street. Spaces are free and are available on a first-come basis, she says.
The cruise-in is free to enter a vehicle and for spectators.
Anyone interested in joining the MainStreet Cruisers Car Club should contact Randy Howard at 423-595-2912. For general information about the cruise-in, call the MainStreet office at 423-479-1000.