Vette Princess

As the sun rises over the sleepy Fairgrounds of Carlisle, you walk around searching for a vendor who has brewed the 1st of many pots of coffee for the weekend. Event flags flutter upon catching the periodic gentle breeze as the vettes roll in.

Day breaks and Corvette clubs park in the Funfield by the Midway and up on the hill. Club members from all across the US & Canada pitch their canopies, set out their chairs and hang their banners in anticipation of sharing this overwhelming event. Over by Gate 3, these rolling works of art appear more frequently. With every gutteral rumble of a modified exhaust and every lope of a big cam, your heart skips a beat. The mounting excitement of anticipation is palpable in the air.

You walk the Fairgrounds... all 85 acres because you don't want to miss a thing! Row upon row of amazing corvettes and too many to count on the hills of the Funfield. There are some that are not your taste yet you can appreciate them for the work and detail and style that that the owner has put in to his baby to make it uniquely his. There are others that are exactly what you want for yourself! You have dreamed of that exact stock edition or you can't wait to modify it to your specifications.

You track down the owners to ask, "Where did you find that heat extractor hood?" "What did you have done to your engine?" "How comfortable are those race seats?" "What color is that paint?"

You walk miles through the Midway of vendors and the swap meet of other corvette paraphernalia. Sitting at picnic tables eating a hot dog and FF's and ice cream, it's easy to talk to strangers who are all there for the same purpose... to pay hommage to the Corvette!

The sexy C7 is there in all its glory in all colors as you try and pick your favorite! Even if you weren't sure of your feelings before now, seeing this beauty in person and sitting in the driver's seat hooks you and you forget all about the taillights not being round.

All the vendors from the forum are there and it's fun putting faces to logos and meeting Adam from Adam's Polishes.... after all your garage looks like his warehouse! You are in constant overwhelm as you walk among every generation of corvette C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7. You check out the vettes for sale because you really believe that you need another one! You have purchased your Carlisle Events t-shirt & picked up your Kerbeck's poster and you head for Installation Alley to hear the Corsa exhaust that was just mounted and watch a dyno tune.

So many people, so many amazing corvettes, all one big family despite age, gender or generation of Vette. You drive in the Parade waving to the fans. Have you ever seen such magnificence all in one place? You wink at the little boy on the side of the parade route who is just like you once were... dreaming of one day owning a corvette. When he is old enough to buy his first vette, you wonder, "Will the pop-up headlights of your C5 be as collectible then as the split window of the '63 is now?" The gleam in that boy's eye matches your own... the Vette is so much more than just a car!

When you bought your first corvette, did you ever imagine how it would change your life? How could you? The new friends, new experiences, travels, the feeling you get behind the wheel! The never-ending additions despite your telling your wife, "One more mod and I'm done!" Then you come to Carlisle and realize that you're never really done! ... Now to just convince your wife!

You walk back through the Midway admiring Carbon Fiber, leather interior and you pick up yet another Vette shirt from the Museum Store... and another Kerbeck's poster! Taking your purchases and catalogs back to your car, you stand on the hill overlooking the manifestation of your dream.

Surrounded by so many Corvettes takes your breath away! For the next couple of days, you know you are exactly where you are supposed to be and all is right with the world!

Thank you Corvettes at Carlisle!

H&R

Very well put,enjoyed reading that sums up the last few days very well

USA1 427

My wife and I have been attending since we bought our first Vette in 02. She looks forward to it more than I do I think. She's not into the women's oasis or the shopping busses. She likes Corvettes and loves just walking around, seeing what everyone has done to make theirs special, checking out the swap meet and the vendors, but most of all..........seeing old friends that we've met there and only see once a year.
I'm the luckiest guy around for sure.

Vette Princess

GS Diva

That's exactly how I am at Carlisle! I only went to the Women's Oasis the very first year we went...15 years ago!

Elaine