South for Winter
Carlisle Events brings an auction, a car show and more to the Sunshine State
By Steve Turner
Fans of Blue Oval machinery are surely familiar with Carlisle Events, the company that puts on a massive show each June celebrating all things Ford. This event is held annually in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, but during the colder months the company brings its series south for a pair of events dedicated to all things automotive and more.
After outgrowing the events’ previous location, Carlisle brought its Fall Florida Autofest and Florida Winter Autofest to the Sun ’N Fun facility at Lakeland Linder Airport in Lakeland, Florida. At this larger facility, Carlisle has room to offer everything from a motorcoach concours and bi-plane rides to a car corral and swap meet. The company also hosts its own auto auction, where the seller doesn’t pay unless the car for auction sells. And, if that weren’t enough, there was even an opportunity to meet Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard.
While all that stuff is fun, the real draw for us is that this event also served as the location for the Imperial Mustangs of Polk County Club’s Mustangs & Mustangs car show, which brings together Fords and Mustangs for a car show an a photo-op with a P-51 Mustang airplane and donates some of the proceeds of the show to Volunteers in Service to the Elderly.
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