Published: June 17, 2007 11:03 pm         

Participating cars gearing up for auto fair

As the first day of excitement winds down at the July 20-22 Friends of Coal Auto Fair, the first night of activities will heat up as many of the participating cars will rev their engines for Beckley’s Cruise-in Car and Bike Show.

The evening’s activities will begin at 6 p.m. as the first wave of participating cars cruise on over from the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA’s Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex to Neville Street in uptown Beckley. A second cruise-in will follow at 7 p.m.

Jill Moorefield, director of Beckley Renaissance, says the Friday night show, formerly known as Oldies Night, gives the community the opportunity to check out the cars while enjoying an evening of food and entertainment.

“It’s a lot of fun for everyone,” Moorefield said, adding the night will include entertainment for children, as well.

Local classic rock band Hit & Run is scheduled to perform in the Neville Street gazebo from 7 to 9 p.m., at which time awards will be presented to the winning vehicles.

Moorefield said the show has a unique variety of categories, including Mayor’s Choice, Miners’ Choice (selected by the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine) and awards decided by the Beckley Fire and Police departments.

Also, the public will get to decide on People’s Choice recipients and children will even select a Kids’ Choice winner.

“We’re trying to get all the city departments and the community involved,” Moorefield said.

Friday night’s event is free to the public and Moorefield says the community is welcome to line Johnstown Road and South Kanawha Street as the cars cruise into town.

“We’re going to have two really nice cruises,” Moorefield said. “We invite attendees to stroll down memory lane and view antique and classic cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

“We hope the weather will be beautiful and everyone will have a good time.”

Anyone wishing to register for the Friends of Coal Auto Fair, which includes automatic registration for Beckley’s Car and Bike Show, can download a registration form by visiting www.friendsofcoalautofair.com. Advance registration is $10 and registration throughout the weekend will be $15.

Also, tickets for the July 21 Lonestar/Taylor Made show, which are $20 for adults and $10 for students up through high school age, are on sale now at Little General and One Stop locations throughout the region, City National Bank locations and the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA. Tickets will also be available at the gate for $25 for adults and $15 for students.

Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA membership and marketing director Jay Rist says the show would not be possible without the support of major sponsor Friends of Coal and the following platinum sponsors:

Massey Energy, Walker Machinery, Fairchild International, Superior Highwall Miners, Cline Resources, Bluestone Industries, Ramey Ford, Riverton Coal Production, Petroleum Products, Brooks Run Mining, Appalachian Tire, Mountaineer Hyundai, West Virginia Coal Recovery, Marshall Miller & Associates, Pritchard Mining, Summit Resources, Little General Stores, Vecellio & Grogan, Phillips Machine Service, Mountain State University, Champion Industries, Coal News, Southern West Virginia Paving, West Virginia Coal Alliance, Eagle Coal Sales, Gould's Electric, Nell Jean Enterprises, Patience Inc., Brody Mining LLC. and DBT.

— E-mail:

mjames@register-herald.com