2010 Ironstone Concours in Murphys, CA

[Guest C2Dan]

Last Saturday, the annual concours was held at the Ironstone Winery in the California Gold Country. We entered our '65 Corvette and had a delightful time. I think this has become our favorite car show.

The judging was low-key, while trailer queens and nit-picking were discouraged. The judges kind of wandered around each class of cars for a few minutes and then handed out two or three green ribbons as "Awards of Merit" (we got one of those) and a purple ribbon as "Best in Class." No one asked me to remove the cover over the compartment where the jack is stored, which is what had happened to me at another concours earlier this year. I was lucky that no spiders crawled out.

The display included classic wooden boats as well as an area where old house trailers and period-correct tow vehicles were shown. The owners actually lived at the winery for a couple of days, which made the tableaux of old tents and camping gear very realistic. Throughout the day, artists set up shop with easels and oil paints to paint the cars.

The entrants were encouraged to position their cars on Friday afternoon. That avoided the crush on Saturday, but it created the problem of getting from town to the winery in the morning. That was solved for me when I was offered a ride in a beautiful Bentley!

All in all, an eclectic show with something for everyone--more than 300 cars were on display. For lots of pictures, open this album and then go to one of the sub-albums: http://s974.photobucket.com/albums/ae226/dniehans/Ironstone%20Concours%202010/.

[tigersdad]

Dan,

Don't know if you've been in the past or this was your first time, but this years Concours was nothing compared to past events. There were fewer classic cars and what you term as "trailer queens" which are always a pleasure to look at, even if more $ was poured into the car than what it is worth. The band playing tunes form the 20's and 30's is great background, but when that ended and the auction began, I thought I was at a Mecum Automobile Auction. It completely took away from the ambience of the venue. This had once been a great show, but like others, seems to wane after time. Plus it's HOT as hell every year, hence, the fewer cars and crowd.

Jay

1931 Cadillac 355A Town Sedan

1934 Buick Series 40

1957 Ford Farilane 500 Sunliner Convertible