Corvette Welcome Fest is Thursday

The City of Effingham’s Tourism Office will be hosting the Corvette Welcome Fest downtown party from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, September 18, to kick-off Mid America Motorworks’ 21^st Annual Corvette Funfest, “Vets with Vettes,” and residents are invited to join in welcoming Corvette enthusiasts to Effingham.

Mid America Motorworks’ Fun Run Road Tour will end in downtown Effingham, with a Corvette parade, coming down Jefferson Ave and ending at the Courthouse square.  The Corvettes are expected to arrive downtown around 5:15 – 5:30 p.m. residents are invited to come out for the parade. Following the parade, the Corvettes will park down Jefferson Avenue, around the Historic Courthouse Museum lawn and parking lots adjacent to the square.

“We are expecting around 450 – 500 Corvettes to participate in this year’s downtown party, a significant increase from previous years,” said Effingham Tourism Director Jodi Jackson.  “The Corvette Welcome Fest is a great opportunity for us to welcome visitors to our community, but also, for residents to come and check out some one-of-a-kind Corvettes and enjoy the downtown festivities. We have a great lineup this year.”

Activities that evening will include a Gabby Goat cookout, in addition to sweet treats including Holli’s Flour shop cookies, Aunt Kim’s Kettle corn and Culver’s frozen custard. You can also enjoy live musical entertainment by Heather & Marty, giveaways, and a chance to see a variety of Corvettes.

“There will be a lot of activity downtown that evening, and we hope residents will join us,” said Jackson. There are some additional activities going on during the downtown party this year. “Some of the Corvette enthusiasts will be throwing out candy again this year, so we hope to have plenty of families lined up along Jefferson Avenue to enjoy the cars and candy,” said Jackson. The Effingham County Courthouse Museum will also be open from 5 – 8 p.m. for tours. In addition, Cayla’s Power Tumbling will also perform around 6:00 p.m. along Fourth Street. “We’re really excited to kick off this special Funfest and honor all our veterans. Residents can enjoy our Veteran’s Memorial while participating in the downtown party. We hope everyone will come out and enjoy a great night in our beautiful downtown area,” said Jackson. Some of the downtown businesses will also stay open late to accommodate our Corvette visitors and Effingham community.

Mid America Motorworks’ Annual Corvette Funfest is expected to bring in over 40,000 visitors to Effingham over the weekend. The event will be held from September 18 to 21 on Mid America’s campus on north U.S. 45. This year Mid America Motorworks will also feature The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall; a 3/5-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Admission to the Vietnam Traveling Memorial is free. Parking for non-registered Corvette Funfest guests is $2/per. The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be at Mid America Motorworks through the Funfest weekend.

For more information on the Thursday night event, contact the Effingham Tourism department at 217-342-5310 or visit www.VisitEffinghamIL.com.  For more information about events at Mid America Motorworks, visit www.FunfestEvents.com.