A classic car show will launch in Marion County this fall, with the goal of becoming one of the premier auto events in the region, if not on the entire East Coast, within the next few years. The Ocala Pumpkin Run, which will take place over three days on the last weekend of October, promises something for just about everyone, with a definite emphasis on family entertainment.
“We want it to be a classic car show with a fair-type ambience,” says John Duggan, president and founding partner of the Ocala Pumpkin Run. “We want people to come with their families and enjoy themselves for an entire day, or for the entire weekend.”
Adopting the slogan “Horsepower in Horse Country,” the Ocala Pumpkin Run classic car show, which will take place on the 400-acre Castro Farms property on Highway 27, will feature an automotive midway with cars on display, a car corral with collector cars for sale, a wide range of family activities, a trick or treat event for kids, a display by the Florida Carriage Museum, and hundreds of product and food vendors. The event will host an estimated 3,000 vehicles, including historic and classic cars owned by individual collectors. In addition, a number of classic car clubs from as far away as Brooklyn will participate.
While numerous classic car shows exist across the country, from the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on the East Coast to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance out west, few of them are family-oriented, which will make the Ocala Pumpkin run stand out from the crowd.
“I never had a focus on anything but cars,” says Duggan, “but having a family gives you a different perspective. In most families nowadays, both mom and dad work. The hours that families have together are few and far between. So if you have some big event that dad wants to go to, it’d be nice if mom and the kids could go too. And that’s my objective with this show—it has to be diversified, so there’s something for everybody. It has to be a show that, no matter what, you like it and have fun.”
Read more about the Pumpkin Run in the August issue of Ocala Magazine!
Mustang or Mercedes? Pink Cadillac or little red Corvette? Tell us about your favorite collector or vintage car in the comments section below.
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