Florence's Rods N Rhoadies Pairs With Community Garage Sale - Central Oregon Coast

Published 08/30/23 at 5:27 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Florence, Oregon) – Pairing a community-wide garage sale and a massive hot rod show on the Oregon coast sounds like just the ticket these days, doesn't it?

Now, add to the mix the usual warm weather stretch of September and you have a duo of events in Florence that seem like the thing you never knew you needed until it existed.

Florence's Rods N Rhodies Invitational Charity Car Show and Benefit and the Florence Community-wide Garage Sale all come together on September 9 – 11, boasting three days of trick cars and bargain deals both funky and thrifty. Rods N Rhodies happens September 9 and 10 (Friday and Saturday) while all three days turn the whole town into a shopping find.

“At Rods N Rhodies you know you’ll see some of the West Coast’s most gorgeous, amazing, awe-inspiring hot rods all around town,” said organizer Gary Cargill of the local charitable nonprofit Rods N Rhodies, Inc. “Up to 125 of the west coast’s best high-end hot rods and custom cruisers from 1976 and earlier will be in town.”

It's what Florence Area Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Bettina Hannigan called a high-octane weekend, and a great opportunity to sneak in one more trip to the Oregon coast before the routines of school kick back in.

While Roads N Rhoadies was known for being its own event in September, it became its own non-profit in 2018 with the purpose of helping locals in need of automotive repair and maintenance. This year’s event will be a benefit for their mission and goals.

Friday starts with an all-comers “Kool Car Stand-Around” show-and-shine at the Port of Siuslaw parking lot at the east end of Bay St. There will be food, music, and up to 100-plus cars on display. Owners of any classic car are welcome to exhibit at this event along with the invited vehicles.

The Community-wide Garage Sale also starts Friday. It will feature dozens of sites all over the central Oregon coast town, including some retail stores. Treasure hunters can pick up a guide to the Community-wide Garage Sale at the Siuslaw News office, 148 Maple St., at TheSiuslawNews.com, or FlorenceChamber.com and cruise the bargain trail all weekend to discover scores of commercial and private sales across the Siuslaw region.

The main event for Rods N Rhodies takes place Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on a temporarily-closed-off Bay Street. The event includes a classic Saturday night cruise in and around Old Town, raffles with lots of prizes, and award presentations for the exhibitors. Get down to tunes from the '50s through the '70s by Russ Strohmeyer, a popular DJ on the car show circuit.

On Saturday, Bay St. will be blocked to regular traffic beginning at 7:00 a.m. for exhibitors to enter at the west end at Kingwood. From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. cars will be on display along both sides of the street, there will be themed music, and raffle tickets for sale. The awards presentation begins at 4:00 p.m. with exhibitors vying for the Merchant Award, Children's Choice Award, Peoples’ Choice Award, and Best of Show Award. Visitors are invited to vote for the Peoples’ Choice by obtaining a ballot in Old Town and returning it by 3:00 p.m. Following the presentation, cruisers will begin the annual classic car cruise in and around Historic Old Town.

Popular characters “Rod” and “Rhody,” will help kids with a special ballot for the Children's Choice Award. Kids who vote receive a small goodie bag.

About the benefit aspect of the event, Cargill says, “Most of us go through day-to-day activities without even thinking about how we will get to where we want to go. We have the means of transportation that is reliable and comfortable. However, within our community, there are many with jobs among those who struggle to make ends meet and don’t have that luxury.”

Contact Rods N Rhodies president Gary Cargill at 541-999-6513 or florencerodsnrhodies@gmail.com

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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