Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Oct 28 Cruise-In

This is our last big cruise-in for the year. Yes, drivers bring their cars here from Nov - March, but this will be our last burnout for 2011.

Bring your family and come join the fun!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Oakboro's Story

Did you see the story about our event on UNC-TV? We are very excited to have been chosen to be featured on our statewide public television.

The night the reporter was here, we were also honored by the presence of Maggie "Charlene Darling" Peterson and the Mayberry Tribute Artists. How did we get so lucky? Jeff Branch, who plays the role of "Howard Sprague" in the Tribute group, is from here. He produces a variety of bluegrass shows and one of them included our guests and Rodney "Rodney Darling" Dillard. Maggie and Rodney actually performed on The Andy Griffith Show in the 1960s. Jeff's show actually occured the next day in neighboring Troy, N.C.

Our last burnout of the season will be held in October. In the following months, we'll have smaller cruise-ins where people bring their cars and typically socialize over dinner. Then the burnout and big cruise-in will begin again in April 2012.

If the weather is pretty, we'll have 500 or more cars and thousands of people. So come join us!

Maggie Peterson, the real actress who played the role of Charlene Darling, poses with a fan for a picture.



Remember this old car? The Darling's rode it from the mountains to Mayberry.



Some people can never go long without getting caught!

Friday, August 26, 2011

No rain in Oakboro tonight!

Yes, there's a car show.
No, there's no rain!

Come bring your car and have some fun!

Around 8 p.m., we'll have a parade featuring two Mayberry squad cars - Otis, Ernst T, Howard and other members of the Mayberry Tribute Artists - along with the real Charlene.

That's right. Maggie Peterson is the actress who played the roll of Charlene Darlin', the gal with the crush on Sheriff Andy Taylor.

Bring your cameras! And, we're holding a fundraiser for the D.A.R.E. program in Montgomery County, where funds have been eliminated for this year. Oakboro's own Jeff Branch is the D.A.R.E. officer there and needs our support.

And be sure to buy a 50/50 ticket. You might go home with some green backs!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Getting Attention!

Behind the scenes ... Our event is run by a team of highly-dedicated volunteers, some of whom don't even live in Oakboro. But, they love this event. Lately, we've had a rash of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experts visit our site and try to sell us services to increase the number of people coming to our page. Most of them come from India or somewhere off-shore. We've gotten so many of these people trying to sell us their services that we must be doing something right! Otherwise, how have more than 100 of them, find us?

Something else ... The 50/50 tickets help us send a local student to Stanly Community College to study in the automotive science program. So when you purchase tickets, you're contributing to a scholarship.

Friday, July 29, 2011

August 26 - Special Guests Will Be Here!!!

Bring your cameras and meet Charlene, Rodney and all the Mayberry Tribute Artists - during the Friday, August 26 cruise-in. We'll have a parade at 8 p.m. and they'll be around for photos, handshakes and autographs. And, you'll see them at the burnout!

You may recall that on The Andy Griffith Show, there was the Darlin' family who came to town from the mountains. There was the dad, Charlene and her brothers. They picked and played and sang. Charlene fell in love with Sheriff Andy Taylor and wanted to marry him.

Well, they'll be in town for a D.A.R.E. benefit the next night, Saturday, August 27, in Troy. But before they get there, we'll have them here at the cruise-in.

Charlene is actually Maggie Peterson and she lives in Las Vegas where she often performs with her husband. She still has a beautiful voice and is planning on singing a couple of numbers for us during her visit.

AND - Maggie owns a red 1964 red VW bug. She would love to sell it. She bought it brand new and drove it to the TV set in Los Angeles when she was working on the show. It has around 370,000 miles on it and is in great shape. No, she isn't bringing it to the cruise-in. She's flying in from Las Vegas where she now lives and often performs with her piano playing husband. She will soon have a Facebook page about her car. She says that Denver Pyle added some silver flower vases on the inside of the doors so she could carry Charlene's mountain flowers. True story!

As we get pics of the car and Maggie, we'll post them!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Congratulations!

In this day and time when car dealerships have been struggling, we tip our hat to one that has been open for the past 35 years. It's quite an accomplishment, in this economy, to run a business successfully.

We normally don't post advertisements for companies, but we salute this one! Someone there, who obviously attends the Oakboro Cruise-In, sent us the following -

BEN MYNATT CHEVY-CAD-BUICK-GMC is having a Celebration for being in Cabarrus County for 35 years. There will be games for the kids, a live band, hot dogs, home made Ice Cream and a Car show. If you know anyone who would like to show their car, please let them know they will be welcome here. Come help us celebrate and have a big time. June 18th 10:00am-3:00pm.

Friday, May 27, 2011

May Event Cancelled

Mother Nature isn't being kind to us in Oakboro. She's whipped up storms, thunder, lightnin' and rain in April and May.

We had about 15 cars show up before the second storm blew in here. We're going to try and do this again on Friday, June 24.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Save Driving

Which insurance companies award safe drivers? Check out this link.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Season Opening Gets a Soaking!

Someone should write a song just for times like tonight .... "Rain On and Off Again." But that's the way April is here. Hot one day. Chily the next. Pretty and dry - or wet.

We hope you'll plan to join us on May 27 - and have a safe and enjoyable Easter 2011!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

April 22, 2011 Starts Burnout Season at the Oakboro Cruise-In

The Oakboro Cruise-In & Burnout will be held on Friday, April 22.


If the weather is nice, volunteer organizers expect up to 6,000 people who enjoy cars, music, an historic downtown setting and a friendly atmosphere.

The Oakboro Cruise-In & Burnout is in its eighth season, having begun in 2004.

If weather is pretty, cars start arriving after lunch. However, the official hours are 5-9:30 p.m. The burnout will occur at 9 p.m.

Food vendors and souvenir concessions will be set up. Restaurants and retail stores will be open. The public is encouraged to purchase 50/50 tickets. Proceeds go towards the operation and promotion of the event and help provide scholarships for local high school students.

The Cruise-In is held in downtown Oakboro on NC Hwy. 205 between Albemarle and Charlotte. It is one of the largest cruise-ins held in a small North Carolina downtown.

For information, visit the Oakboro Cruise-In on Facebook, email info@oakborocruisein.com, log onto www.OakboroCruiseIn.com or call Jerry Crayton at 704-467-4992.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Winter Season

We're not as formal with our event in the winter months as we are when temperatures warm up. Typically what happens in from Dec-Feb is that people come and meet over dinner. So if you're driving through town during that time, come on in and warm up with dinner. We're here!

2011

We are getting geared up for our 2011 season and we'll be posting a lot of information on Facebook too. If you have any suggestions, please share them with us. thank you!