Although most downtown Columbus events were canceled this summer, the 24th annual Hot Rods and Rock and Roll event will be back … without the rock and roll.
The Sept. 19 event, organized and sponsored by 106.1 The River, will not have its usual concert which has been canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns. Station manager Bob Morrison promised that Rick K and the Allnighters, who have performed at the event for more a decade, are scheduled to return next year.
“This was just done from a safety standpoint and trying to make sure that we could properly distance folks,” Morrison said. “And there just really isn’t a good way to do that, based on the exciting show that Rick normally puts on.”
Rich Anthony, event coordinator and 106.1 The River brand manager, said that during the car show, the radio station will be playing over a speaker system and broadcasting live from a tent on Fifth and Washington.
While live rock is on pause, the hot rods are still set to roll out. This year, the car show, which also includes trucks and motorcycles, will be limited to 160 vehicles, due to pandemic concerns. Anthony said that on a regular year, there are more than 300 vehicles.
The special event application for the annual car show was approved Tuesday by the Columbus Board of Works. Morrison said that the station also got their event plan approved by public health officials, whose main concern was “congregation.”
Board of works member Mary Ferdon commended Morrison and the city’s engineering department for working to make the event fit with city and state requirements.
Morrison thanked city officials, the Bartholomew County Health Department and the governor’s office for helping the station figure out how to bring back the event safely.
With this in mind, vehicles will be spaced out to help prevent crowds, Morrison said.
“The tendency to congregate goes down, because the cars aren’t so close together,” he said. “…Folks have a tendency to move along pretty quickly, as they always have. It kind of has that farmer’s market feel.”
While the event usually sees several thousand people come and go over the course of the evening, Anthony said he expects a lower turnout this year due to the concert being canceled, the limited number of vehicles and general concern about COVID-19.
The radio station has “no idea” how many people will show, but he added that whether it’s several hundred or a few thousand, they likely won’t all be there at the same time. In any case, he expects it to be less crowded.
In order to prevent spread, the station recommends that attendees wear face coverings and practice social distancing. Attendees are asked to leave the event area if they have a fever or do not feel well.
There will also be three manned hand sanitizer stations at the event, with event workers working the pumps. There will also be reminders over the speakers to practice social distancing and signs reminding people about “Mask Up Indiana.”
Per the governor’s order, face coverings are required in outdoor public spaces when it is not “feasible” to keep a distance of 6 feet apart from people who aren’t from one’s own household.
While there will be a few vendors at the event, they will be spaced out and will not be selling food and drink or “consumables of any kind, including wrapped candy,” Morrison said. The station will give shoutouts to any merchants on Washington Street who are open during the car show.
Anthony said that while there will be commemorative T-shirts for sale at the event, the station will not be giving out freebies such as key chains. “We’re not going to have anything else to pass out this year, because we’re trying to be safe,” he said.
The safety of everyone at the event is “paramount” and that the station “will continue to monitor the situation and will adjust accordingly,” Morrison said of event planning.
“We know how much people want to get out right now, and we know how much this means to the people who have been coming to this every year,” he said. “… I think we’re all wanting to get outside and enjoy the clean air for a change and just to be around other people.”
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What: The 24th Annual Hot Rods and Rock and Roll Car Show
When: 3-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, the evening concert is canceled
Where: Downtown Columbus
Cost: Free
How to enter the show: This year, the car show (which also includes truck and motorcycles) will be limited to 160 vehicles. It is free to enter the show, but registration is required. Vehicles will be registered the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis.
More information: Registration is available at 1061theriver.com/carshow/.
Street closures: Washington Street will be blocked off from Third to Eighth streets, and Fifth, Sixth and Seventh streets will be blocked off from Jackson to Franklin streets. Fourth Street between Washington and Jackson and Washington and Franklin will not be used to park motorcycles this year, as those spaces are designated dining areas for local restaurants.
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