Page 28 - Leisure Living Magazine August 2017

On Stage,In Concert
& Other Celebrations
Compiled by Catharine Hadley, Arts and Entertainment Editor, catharinehadley@gmail.com
A 1950s Tradition Roars Back To Life
The Put-in-Bay Road Races and Reunion is scheduled for Aug. 28 through 30 at the Put-in-Bay Airport. Peter Huston, island ambassador for the Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce, is looking forward to the event – in part, because he is the son of a father who loved to restore old cars.
“Back in the fifties and the late sixties there was a car race on the island. During those years they literally raced on the streets of the island. Flat-out, crazy racing,” he said. “Everybody loved coming here to watch the races.”
About 10 years ago, the children of the people who had participated decided to have a reunion. “I think they got maybe 25 or 30 people who showed up with cars,” Huston said. The drivers used the old race route – but drove “casually” this time.
The reunions continued. “The word grew and the excitement and interest grew to the point where they said, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if we could actually have the race again?’” The organizers approached the Put-in-Bay Port Authority, which allows the airport runways to be used for the race event.
“On Monday they have time trials, and then they start racing in their classes. This year we have at least 135 cars registered,” Huston said. People from 19 different states,
including California and East Coast states, are attending.
Huston said he expects about 600 peo- ple will come to the island as part of the race, and at least 500 spectators will attend each race day. They tend to bond based on the types of cars they favor. “Sometimes clubs come. This year we’ve got an Alpha Romeo club that’s going to come. That really spurs a new group of people who enjoy coming here.”
Visitors can also enjoy the car show, and watching drivers retrace the old race route that was used more than 50 years ago. “Some people bring their cars but don’t race,” Huston said. Spectators can watch the actualracesfromthe“FanZone”–bleachers under a tent – for free.
“We’re trying to make it accessible to anybody,” Huston said.
For more information and updates, visit the Put-in-Bay Road Races Reunion
page on Facebook. Remember, the event precedes the Aug. 31 Toby Keith concert, which will also be held at the
airport.
Put-in-Bay Road Races
Photo by Peter Huston
28 |LeisureLiving August 2017
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