MECUM MONTHLY Bloomington Gold article

Story by Chelsey Hinsenkamp

LONGEST-RUNNING CORVETTE SHOW IN THE COUNTRY TO RETURN SEPTEMBER 11-12 AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM

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hat began in 1973 in Bloomington, Illinois, as little more than a bunch of people gathered around a corral of cars in a dusty field has since grown to become one of the most celebrated annual collector car gatherings in the country—one dedicated specifically to Corvettes and now welcoming Camaros as well. Slated to be held indoors for the first time in its 47-year history, the 2020 Bloomington Gold Corvette gathering will take place at the Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, the same multipurpose stadium that the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts call home. This year’s gathering is slated for September 11 and 12, and organizers expect it to unfold as a successful and enjoyable event for everyone involved.

The longest-running Corvette show in the country, the event grew rapidly from its humble beginnings, a phenomena that Bloomington Gold President Guy Larsen credits to the early tradition of parts swapping.

“It grew pretty quickly because they started inviting people to bring parts for sale also, and the swapping of parts was a big thing then, back in the ‘70s—no internet, catalogs—you had to go somewhere to find parts; so it grew from that,” he said.

But what really drove the event’s success home and cemented it as a must-attend gathering for enthusiasts was the development of the organization’s judging system.

Instead of attendees going head-to-head with their best autos trying to beat out the competition, Bloomington Gold brass wanted to create a system that would allow cars to be judged on their own merit, focusing on the strengths and individuality associated with each participating vehicle rather than pitting them against each other in a collector car battle royale. It was an idea first postulated by founder and now-retired CEO of Bloomington Gold, David Burroughs.

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“In the late ‘70s, David Burroughs came up with a concept where not just one person could get the top award, but everybody could get the top award,” Larsen explained. “And what he created was a judging system where you judged Corvettes against how they left the factory, originality and authenticity. So, every car that was in the judging field could get the top award—which they called the Gold Award—or none of the cars might attain it, but there wouldn’t be one winning over another, so that really took off and things grew from there.”

For the past several years, the show has consistently drawn in tens of thousands of participants and attendees, and the featured displays and things to see and do have continued to multiply along with the expanding crowd.

In addition to the opportunity to earn awards and certification in Gold, Silver, Bronze, Survivor and Benchmark, the event also features myriad exhibitors as well as other activities and purchasing opportunities, and of course the best part: the chance to socialize with fellow enthusiasts and ‘Vette owners.

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THE RESEARCH AND EXPERT JUDGING STANDARDS AND QUALIFICATIONS ARE WHAT THE BLOOMINGTON GOLD ORGANIZATION PRIDES ITSELF ON

For those without a Corvette or maybe just not quite ready to go through the rigors of the judging process, there is always plenty of organized eye candy on-site to fill those ‘Vette-related voids. The GoldYear and GoldMine groups consistently draw a crowd—the former featuring Corvettes celebrating their 50th anniversary (this year is 1970 models) and the latter boasting Corvettes for sale—while other displays include a more elusive array of autos that are rarely seen in public, and those are the ones that naturally tend to be the most popular.

Some of those rare cars in the Gold Collection also enter the Gold Standard judging. Larsen added that in cases of ultra-rare representations or one-off creations, the judging process becomes especially arduous, requiring a plethora of documentation to prove or authenticate originality and factory accuracy. Nevertheless, Larsen asserted that the research and expert judging standards and qualifications are what the Bloomington Gold organization prides itself on, and feedback from participants over the years has continued to bolster that belief.

This year’s Bloomington Gold Event will introduce an entirely new segment of judging in addition to those already established categories, and it will be dedicated to the judging of Resto

Mod Corvettes. “We’ve been working on a process of judging Restos for months, and I think folks will be excited about it. Awards will be based on degree of modification, creativity, uniqueness and standards of quality. It will not be the judges’ arbitrary selections.

Like Certification judging, all entrees can achieve the highest award, or none of the Corvettes might attain it.” More details on the Resto Mod judging process are forthcoming.

While many large-scale gatherings like Bloomington Gold have been forced to make scheduling and other changes this year, some especially strong and resilient groups have found ways to integrate those changes to create an improved overall experience for participants, and Larsen spoke excitedly about the plans for the 2020 Bloomington Gold event. As mentioned earlier, this year’s change in location will allow for a mostly indoor event—a luxury never before enjoyed by Bloomington Gold devotees—and Larsen added that the change of dates has given them more time to plan and work with vendors and exhibitors, which should equal out to a well-organized event full of things to do, see, try and buy.

For more information on Bloomington Gold 2020, to purchase tickets or to register for the September 11-12 event at the Lucas Oil Stadium, visit BloomingtonGold.com.

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