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IOLA, WI, July 11, 2023 – The Iola Car Show is hosting its 52nd annual event from July 11 through 13, 2024. The largest car show and swap meet in the country, over 2,500 show cars are on display along with over 4,000 swap meet spaces. Celebrating the theme of “The Meeting of the Muscle”, special guests include Henry Winkler, Donny Most and Anson Williams of “Happy Days”, Stan Livingston of “My Three Sons”, Jon Provost of TV’s “Lassie”, Derek Bieri of Vice Grip Garage, Emily Reeves of Flying Sparks Garage, and more.
“We are so excited to return to the Iola Car Show in celebration of 50 years of Happy Days," said Henry Winkler, “It’s an amazing event and we are thrilled to be a part of it once again.”
The Iola Car Show is a whole community, volunteer-driven event. With a population of 1,236, residents of the Village of Iola and beyond come together each year to host over 120,000 attendees. Proceeds provide direct benefit to over 130 local community organizations whose members volunteer their time to make the event possible.
The environment is a great reprieve from daily life featuring thousands of historic vehicles, themed buildings and displays live entertainment, campgrounds, and one of America’s busiest swap meets. Derek Bieri of Vice Grip Garage will be performing live work all three days while interacting with spectators, and the GearKids program is providing awesome programs geared for children of all ages.
Additional industry icons in attendance include Don Garlits, Jo Coddington, Von Hot Rod, Greg and Leah Stelse of Greg’s Speed Shop, Bill “Elvis” Stull, and Ali from Iola.
Event sponsors include Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch, Ford Motor Company, Toys for Trucks, Greg’s Speed Shop, Wisconsin Chevy Super Dealers, Coker Tire, Kwik Trip, Ford, Ho-Chunk Gaming, BankFirst, Garage Experts of Fox Valley, Time Passages, Community Insurance, and more.
Volunteerism across the country continues to decline. According to a 2023 report by the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps, less than 25% of Americans aged 16 and above volunteered for an organization or association from September 2020 to 2021. That is down from 30% in 2019 and from 27.6% 20 years earlier when the survey began.
A model to revive small towns for big impact: The Iola Car Show aims to bridge the gap toward stronger civic engagement with volunteer and sponsorship opportunities that connect communities through a shared love of cars. Since incorporating as a nonprofit in the 1980s, over $9 million has been raised to date to support local organizations, and $30 million is generated annually in direct economic impact for the Central Wisconsin region.
Veterans honored with revamped “Cruise of Honor”: In renewed efforts to continue to honor our nations veterans, Justin Moen has taken on leadership of Iola Car Show’s Cruise of Honor. The Cruise is a joint program with the King Veterans Home that provides a special tour of the show to King’s Veterans on Thursday and Friday. Along with Goodie Bags and collectibles, the Veterans are given a VIP tour of the show with celebrity host Jo Coddington, including special features along the way.
Engaging youth remains critical as the classic car community continues to age. GearKids programming returns for the second year after its successful launch in 2023.It was initiated and is being led by Hayden Nelson, a student at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. The schedule includes a scavenger hunt and wayfinding exercise, “Foundry in a Box”, interactive building project and an appearance by “Rusty” of the popular Battlebots TV series.
“There is a very strong tradition of volunteerism related to this organization, with more than 2,000 volunteers from in and around our community coming together to assist with the event. Their efforts have significant social and financial impacts on the more than 130 different organizations they represent. Our metrics leading into the show indicate this is going to be the biggest we’ve ever hosted, as we continue to honor the past and focus on evolving the Show for future generations,” said Joe Opperman, Executive Director of the Iola Car Show.
About the Iola Car Show: In 1972, author and publisher Chet Krause invited several local collector car enthusiasts to attend the Iola Lions Club Chicken Roast fundraiser as his guests. Twenty arrived with their classic cars, which quickly became a yearly tradition. The Iola Car Show is now the largest classic car show and swap meet in the country. The Show leverages the power of vehicles to create memories and transform lives. Proceeds each year provide direct benefit to over 130 local community organizations whose members volunteer their time to make the event possible. For more information, follow us on social media @IolaCarShow or visit www.iolaoldcarshow.com.
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