[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event

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[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event

Photo Credits: Steve Burns


Things quite literally returned to Normal last weekend as Bloomington Gold continued their 50th anniversary celebration. The 2023 Bloomington Gold Corvette show set up shop on the campus of Illinois State University in the city of Normal, Il for the 2nd year in a row. With abundant sunshine and temps in the mid-90’s both days it was nice to have indoor activities to escape to when things got hot outside.

We arrived on site just before lunch Thursday and watched the Granddaddy of Corvette shows come together. Under the bright skies, nervous owners unloaded their Corvettes and moved over to the staging lot for operations and some initial stamps and tags judging prior to entering the CEFCU Area where the cars would be judged Friday and Saturday. This was great opportunity to see and hear some fantastic Corvettes moving around the ISU grounds.

[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event


Friday was all about Bloomington’s marquee event, Certification judging. What a cool site to see all those great Corvettes arranged neatly inside the arena! By our count, roughly 60 Corvettes from 1953 up through the C6 era were vying for the coveted Gold Certificate. Several of those were in pursuit of the prestigious Benchmark award for unrestored Corvettes. The selection of judged Corvettes were great mix of unrestored originals and exquisitely restored cars. Some of our favorites included a 8,500 mile 1967 L71 coupe, a stunning silver 1962 fuelie, and a magnificently restored blue 1969 convertible. Some of the more unique judged cars included a 651 actual mile red 1975 coupe, a cool prototype 1989 ZR1 (1 of 3 known), and a pair of Harvest Gold 1955 convertibles. Other low-mile originals included a 6,500-mile 1982 collector edition, an 8k-mile 1970 big block, and a-9k mile 1971 LT-1. We were also impressed with restomod class this year. It was easily the best group of customs that Bloomington has had yet in their new judging class.

[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event


Once our perusal of the judged cars was complete we headed outside to see more of the show. Our first stop was the Goldmine for sale lot. The Goldmine was back after a brief absence, and it was nice to see a mix of both dealers and private sellers offering great cars. We hope this portion of the show will continue to grow in future years.

[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event


After that it was over to the swap meet. Oddly, we didn’t have anything on our target list this year but it’s always enjoyable just to wander and see what treasures may lie ahead of us. We loved seeing so many old parts ready for new life. Additional vendors were stationed inside the nearby Horton Fieldhouse. Elsewhere, the Solid Axle Corvette Club had a nice little display of some special C1 Corvettes.

[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event


Saturday morning we made our way through the arena again this time to check out the Survivor judging for the unrestored cars. Original cars are our best way to learn about how Corvettes were built and we appreciate those owners who choose to keep their rides as close as possible to as-new condition.

[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event


Next, we were off to the Z06-themed Gold Collection. Prior to entering we were able to catch one of Josh Holder’s 2023 Z06 walkarounds outside the main entrance of the building. What an amazing collection of Corvette history inside! A dozen of the 188 1963 Z06’s greeting attendees as they entered the Bone Student Center. To our right was the Dave MacDonald racer (the 1st Z06 built), and the famous Gulf 1 was to the left. Another barn find Z06 was off in the corner right below of a photo of it on the racetrack. Beyond the C2 Z06’s was a selection of newer Z06’s from the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th generations. Keep your eyes glued here for a special post dedicated to the entire Gold Collection.

[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event


After catching our breath outside the Gold Collection, we took some time to wander the Corvette and club parking areas. Both locations provided a look at all our hobby has to offer – Corvettes of all generations and owners just hanging out talking shop. Later, the popular road tour would leave from the same area. We weren’t able to make it to the road tour, but if you were, feel free to post up some pics on our Facebook page. We’re told just about 200 cars made the trek through the scenic central Illinois country side and back to downtown Normal for a block party.

We wrapped up our visit to Bloomington Gold by checking out the awards ceremony back inside the well-air conditioned CEFCU Arena. Mecum’s John Kraman emcee’d the event as he and show owner, Guy Larsen, presented awards to each owner right in front of their car respective cars. We really like the car-to-car procession as it makes for a more personal connection with the crowd and show organizers.

[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event


And with that, our whirlwind Bloomington 2023 experience was over. All that remained was a late dinner with our Detroit Bureau unpaid interns and long drive home the next day.

As usual, Bloomington Gold was another great event. For the first time in many years, there wasn’t any rain in sight. The temps were HOT, but the indoor activities provided plenty of opportunity to defeat the heat. The event looks to be settling nicely into its new location in Normal and the community there continues to welcome back what began there 50 years ago. If you’ve never been to a Bloomington Gold event we highly suggest you get it on your calendar for 2024.

We’ll have more from Bloomington Gold in the coming days, but for now, enjoy our photo gallery from the 2023 event.

[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event
[PICS] Bloomington Gold Celebrates 50 Years with 2023 Event


Source:
Photos by Steve Burns

Related:
Josh Holder to Host C8 Z06 and E-Ray Presentations During Gold School Seminars at Bloomington Gold
Bloomington Gold’s 2023 Gold Collection Will Salute Z06 Corvettes
[PICS] The Vanity Plates of the 50th Annual Bloomington Gold Corvette Show

 



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2 COMMENTS

  1. Great collection of outstanding Corvettes. Surprised to see a 78 Silver Anniversary with the cheap looking Vega steering wheel from the 76 Corvette.

  2. Many people are surprised to hear that the Vega steering wheel was standard equipment through 1979. A little less than 20% of 1978 production got the standard, Vega wheel. That dropped to just 12% in 79 before it was eliminated for 1980 production.

    Keep an eye on the site for more on that particular 1978 Corvette in the coming weeks.

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