"Georgia Mountain Moonshine Cruiz-In" Starts Its Engines

Wednesday, July 27th, 2022

The "Georgia Mountain Moonshine Cruiz-In" doesn't officially shift into high gear until Thursday with the car show opening its doors to the public, but car owners are already pulling into town and the event got started Wednesday morning with a mountain cruise for pre-registered cars and drivers. The escorted cruise started at Carpets of Dalton and wound through mountain roads before finishing in Chatsworth at Carpets of Dalton. 

The "Georgia Mountain Moonshine Cruiz-In" event has been held in the north Georgia mountains for 13 years, with this year's event being the first to be hosted in Dalton. Classic cars from around the southeast and beyond are expected for the event at the Dalton Convention Center July 28th through the 30th. 

Caption: Nick Sherlock of Carrier, Mississippi stands next to his 1969 Chevelle SS before Wednesday's mountain cruise

The parking lot at Carpets of Dalton looked like a miniature version of the car show with owners popping the hoods on their classic cars and polishing them up before taking off on the cruise. 

"These folks here have been nice enough to put this on and gave us a tour of the building. The tour is unbelievable, the house that they built inside of it is unbelievable," said Nick Sherlock of Carrier, Mississippi who is visiting Dalton for the first time. He's looking forward to showing off his 1969 Chevelle SS. "I’ve owned it about four years. It’s got a 396 big block and I’ve done a lot of work to it. Everything under the car is new. Suspension, brakes, brake lines, fuel lines, the motor is rebuilt. I added vintage air conditioning to it, and did a lot of upgrades to it. It’s made to get on the interstate and cruise, that’s what I do with it."

The mountain cruise is one of the event highlights for visitors, as is the Friday night parade of cars from the Convention Center to downtown where the car enthusiasts will get a chance to park their rides on Hamilton Street and have a block party that will coincide with the final night of the Off the Rails summer concert series at Burr Park. There are also a number of other events planned for the three day car show at the Convention Center including a classic car auction that will be broadcast on CNBC. 

For the people who are traveling to Dalton to exhibit their cars, though, the most fun is just getting to show off their cars and see everyone else's. 

"It's just the fellowship of other people who’ve got the same kind of hobbies. Just to see what other people are doing and what they’ve got and just to kind of socialize is what I enjoy," said Brant Rushing from Pooler, Georgia. He brought his 1955 Chevy pickup for the event. "It’s fun. It’s good to answer people’s questions, when they look at your truck and a lot of people might like it but they don’t really know what they’re looking at. And they have to ask questions and I’m more than happy to explain all I know about it. I’ve had it six years but I took it completely apart and put it all back together."

Caption: Brant Rushing from Pooler, Georgia stands next to his first-series 1955 Chevrolet pickup before Wednesday's cruise (he notes that, "They made two body styles in 1955, and what they actually did was they made the ‘55 for three months out of ’54 parts, and called it a ’55 and then they changed the body style.")

"Everybody will say, 'oh well I had one of these when I was a teenager,'" said Kenny Warino who will be putting his 1969 Cutlass convertible on display. "I have other cars, but this one is the best on fuel mileage," he said with a laugh. 

"We went (to the "Cruiz-In") when it was in Hiawassee and last year in Blairsville and this year in Dalton, and it's nice here," Warino added. He and a friend traveled together from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. "It's a beautiful town, it's really nice."

Event organizers have been working with Dalton tourism officials for more than six months to put together the event. Organizers have planned to accomodate as many as one thousand show cars for the event at the Convention Center, though it is uncertain how many will arrive. 

"In the past, they’ve had anywhere from 5 to 10,000 people in total attendance," Dalton director of tourism Margaret Thigpen said last week. "They’re hoping for about a thousand cars in this show. I think their averages have been anywhere between 5 to 800, but we’ve got more real estate for them to utilize [here at the Convention Center] so that’s what we’re looking forward to. After Covid we have no idea what will actually happen."

Caption: Kenny Warino of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi shows off his 1969 Cutlass convertible before taking it out on Wednesday morning's mountain cruise

"Whether you are a car enthusiast or you are not, you will have a good time," said event organizer Rakes Parrish at a kickoff meeting last week. "We always include something for everyone. We’ve got events for the kids, we’ve got face painting going on out here, we have vendors with crafts and things to appeal to the family, and of course vendors with automobile parts, too. We’ve got good food, good music, bands, and entertainment. And we DJ 50s, 60s, and 70s music throughout the show, so they’ll enjoy everything about the show. And then kids love to check out all of the cars, so it’s so much fun for everyone young or old."

Admission for the event is $15 per person for a day pass. Parking will be available on the Dalton State College campus with a shuttle to and from the Convention Center. To exhibit a car it costs $60 which includes two admission wrist bands, entry for prize drawings, parking pass, dash plaque, and souvenir sticker. Car owners may register at the Convention Center. 

The Dalton Convention Center is located at 2211 Tony Ingle Parkway in Dalton. 

For more information on the show and a full schedule of events, click here. 

Below: Some of the classic cars on display before Wednesday's cruise through the mountains. These cars and many more will be on display at the Dalton Convention Center Thursday through Saturday at the "Georgia Mountain Moonshine Cruiz-In"