The Frankenmuth Auto Fest is something of a yearly tradition, for my family. And at least for me, for too long it was the closest I’d get to a real vacation. I’m not much of a car guy, but I love seeing the variety of vehicles at these shows, accompanied by (mostly) good music. But as nice as the well-maintained or fully-restored cars are, sometimes it’s the rougher ones that catch my eye.
Seeing familiar faces is another positive aspect of the show. It might be the one time of year to see certain family members and friends, but there are also some familiar strangers I keep an eye out for. There’s an older fellow whose name I can never remember, but he seems to know everyone. Because of the pandemic, I was worried about whether he was even still around. I did see him on the second day, thankfully, though I didn’t have a chance to say hello.
Another familiar face – or rather, car – ended up being a no-show. Every year before 2020, there was a guy who’d take up 2-3 spots for his car, Coca-Cola signs, and a motorized bar stool with a pair of Truck Nutz hanging under the seat. This one I have mixed feelings about – back in 2016, I needed the show to be a break from the election, but this guy was the one person in the entire show who couldn’t leave his politics at home for a weekend. I won’t say it ruined my weekend, but it did sour my already gloomy mood. All of that aside, I was hoping to see his area at this year’s show. The bar stool is always good for a laugh! Fingers crossed he’s in good health, and can attend next year.
This year the show wasn’t quite as relaxing as I’d hoped, because I was set on recording video to cut together and share. I’m not a vlogger, and it’s been years since I’ve edited any video. I didn’t even know what to edit it with. Once I’d settled on a program – DaVinci Resolve – and gotten around the initial learning curve, it still took a few days just to render out the video I’d recoded on the second day –
While I was taking my tour, the DJ announce a fly-over as a tribute to 9/11 –
Later that day, we got to see the aqua cars in action, from across the river at the Frankenmuth Brewery-
The final day of the show is not quite as exiting as the first two days. Usually by the end of the second day, anyone who will be winning a trophy will know it. About half of everyone else will clear out during the Saturday night cruise, so they won’t have to deal with the traffic the next day. Once the sun is up on Sunday morning, the remaining cars steadily clear out.