The anniversary of a long-running car show is set for next weekend, and organizers plan to bring both motors and music to downtown Columbus.
106.1 The River’s 25th annual Hot Rods and Rock & Roll is scheduled for Saturday. The car show will be from 3-7 p.m. The concert, featuring Rick K. & the Allnighters, will begin at 7 p.m. Both are free, said General Manager Bob Morrison.
The return of Rick K. & the Allnighters is a notable change from 2020. While the group has performed at Hot Rods and Rock & Roll for several years, there was no concert at last year’s event, among other COVID-19 modifications.
Morrison said that the station is planning to move forward with this year’s concert at present.
“We’ve not had anything brought to our attention by way of any of the local authorities saying maybe we shouldn’t do this,” he said. “It’s something that we’re watching all the time. But if you don’t plan to do something and then all the sudden you decide to do it, you can’t get it pulled off.”
When the station considered doing a concert last year, they couldn’t find a good way of keeping people distanced. For this year’s show, the plan is for people to be seated in spaced-out groups at the concert area.
Morrison added that while the station understands that some people may choose not to attend the concert over concerns, they wanted to provide the option of a show for people who choose to attend it.
The station will continue to listen to both the city and health department, remaining flexible to “pivot” if needed up until the day of the event, he said.
COVID-19 protocols for Hot Rods and Rock & Roll will include having hand sanitizer available. Masks are encouraged but optional.
“We’re asking folks again to follow the protocols that the state has advised in regards to keeping your hands clean and maintaining distance as much as you can,” Morrison said.
Unlike last year’s show, there will not be a limit on the number of vehicles. Morrison estimated that the 2020 car show saw a little over 100 cars, which is “extremely small” by their usual standards.
“We had a good crowd, I feel, for the number of vehicles we had and without doing the concert,” he said. “So we expect it to be busier this year, but again, I’m not expecting a crowd anything like we had in 2019 or in years previous like that. I still think that it’s going to be a smaller crowd overall.”
The event typically sees about 400 cars, but Morrison guesses that 200-250 is a possible ballpark for this year.
He said it’s hard to estimate the number of attendees for a usual year since the event isn’t ticketed, but several thousand is likely, based on giveaways. He estimated 4,000 to 5,000 might be accurate, with some years being “heavier” than others.
The estimated attendance on this year’s event application was 1,500. However, Morrison said it’s difficult to guess how many will come this year, as some people are comfortable with outdoor events, and others are not. He added that they “encourage people to have a good time, be safe and to weigh that all into their consideration.”
“We don’t do this for the crowd,” he said. “We do this because we love showcasing downtown. It is a wonderful venue for people to come and visit, whether they’re from Bartholomew County or the surrounding counties throughout the state. We have people come in from out of state with their cars.”
