Midnight Fantasies Car Show to take place this weekend
Published 10:17 am Friday, September 20, 2013
The 22nd annual Midnight Fantasies Lakefront Tour Car & Truck Show is planned for this weekend at the Lake Charles Civic Center. The show starts at 10 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
“We started this off at the Belmont Hotel with Contraband Rod,” said Roger Miller, owner and founder of the show. “For the second and third year, we were in the Kmart parking lot, and the fourth year we went to the Civic Center and we’ve been there for the last 18 years.”
This year’s event is expected to have more than 400 cars on display — such as antiques, muscle cars, imports, mini trucks and hot rods.
“You get to show your car off and see other cars you’ve never seen before,” said Richard Cossey, owner of a 1968 Camaro Z/28.
Aside from cars and trucks, the event will have motorcycles, bicycles, monster trucks and golf carts on display.
“It’s all about what you like and how you grew up,” said John Vickers, owner of a 1955 Chevrolet 210, on collecting and showing vintage automobiles. “I blew up one of those ’55s at a drag strip in New Orleans when I was 16 years old. That’s why I always kept ’55s.”
Some car owners involved in the event enjoy not only showing off their vintage cars, but also their custom paint jobs.
“My car has two paint colors on just the sides,” Vickers said. “It’s a dark blue and a light blue, and the top is metal flake. It was painted and sanded three times. My motor is actually metal flake, too.”
Some car owners also undertook the task of restoring their vehicles.
“It didn’t run (when I bought it),” said Jimmy Fontenot on his custom 1946 Chevy truck. “So we changed the motor and the transmission. We repainted the entire body, and it’s been winning so I like it.
“It’s like a wife. If she’s good, you keep her,” he added.
Also at the event, an LSU packet will be raffled off with the proceeds donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Best in show will win $500, and the Fantasies Girl winner will receive $600.
Preregistration has already ended.
For cars to register on either day, the cost is $40; the cost for motorcycles is $30. Admission is $8 per day, $10 for a weekend pass. Children 10 and under are admitted for free.
(Alex Onken / American Press) From left to right: Richard Cossey’s 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
John Vickers’ 1955 Chevy 210
and Jimmy Fontenot’s 1946 Chevy Truck will be on display at 2013’s Midnight Fantasies Car Show.
The dash of John Vickers’ 1955 Chevy 210 is painted with a custom metal flake paint. (Alex Onken / American Press)
