Good Old-Fashioned Smoky Mountain Family Fun at the Spring Cherokee Rod Run
Source – Jennifer McLucas, The Goss Agency
The Cherokee Rod Run rolls into town this weekend, May 14-16. (Photos courtesy of Jennifer McLucus/The Goss Agency)
Classic car fans start your engines! The 10th Annual “Cruise the Smokies” Cherokee Spring Rod Run hits the road May 14–16 for a breathtaking drive through the world’s oldest mountain range. Thousands of car enthusiasts from across the southeast descend upon the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds for this spring tradition to cruise the Blue Ridge Parkway and country roads surrounding Cherokee and compete for prizes, hot rod bragging rights and the show-stopping best-in-show trophy. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
“The Spring and Fall Rod Runs are very important events to the tourism community of Cherokee,” states Mary Jane Ferguson, director of marketing for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. “Attendance has increased year after year, and this year’s hot rod parade through town should be the largest one yet for the spring edition.”
Hundreds of classic and customized automobiles from bucket Ts to ’32 Fords are expected to participate in this year’s family friendly Rod Run. Vehicle registration is $30 by May 1 and $35 at the door. All registered vehicles are eligible to compete for cash and prizes including the best-in-show trophy, a commissioned work of hot rod art from one of Cherokee’s most renowned artists. First awarded at the 2009 Fall Rod Run, the trophy quickly became one of the most sought-after trophies on the Rod Run circuit.
Interested car enthusiasts may download the vehicle registration form at www.cherokee-nc.com/rodrun. Value packages are available and can be customized to include event admission, tickets to Cherokee’s official cultural attractions, a round of golf, whitewater rafting and a hotel discount to an area hotel. More information is available online or at the Cherokee Welcome Center at (800) 438-1601.
Cherokee also hosts the Fall Rod Run from Nov. 5–7, 2010. Car enthusiasts return in high numbers in the fall when leaves blanket the hills in warm hues of red, orange and gold. For the Fall Rod Run, vehicle registration is $35 by May 1 and $40 at the door.
