ST. CHARLES — Corvettes will line the fairways of the Pheasant Run Golf Course in St. Charles for the tenth and final time this weekend, as the Bloomington Gold Corvette Show rolls into town.
The show typically draws 5,000 to 7,000 Corvettes, making it the second largest Corvette show in the world, according to director Ed Saari.
The show, which opens Thursday and runs through Sunday, has been in St. Charles since 2002. This will be its final appearance at Pheasant Run, however, as show officials say they want to find somewhere with a small town feel.
“People don’t want to bring their Corvettes into all that traffic,” Saari said. “We wanted the small town atmosphere, like it used to be.”
In 2013, the Bloomington Gold Corvette Show will return to central Illinois — on the University of Illinois campus.
The move to Champaign-Urbana gives the show that small town atmosphere, with more open country roads to drive the cars, Saari said.
Both the Pheasant Run staff and the community will miss having the Corvette show in town, said Jeanne Hahn, Pheasant Run director of sales and marketing.
“There’s nothing like seeing thousands of Corvettes along the golf course,” she said. “We’re sad to see them leave.”
Hahn said the Bloomington Gold show is one of the biggest events that Pheasant Run hosts throughout the year.
This weekend’s Show will feature a Chevy ride-and-drive event, where the company will bring additional models of Chevy cars that people will be able to drive around the Pheasant Run campus and on Route 64, Saari said.
They also have displays of Corvettes for sale, and more than 100 Corvettes that will be auctioned off.
And there is a judging event, for those just looking to display their car and mingle with other Corvette owners.
The event will also feature the Gold Tour at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Kane County Judicial Center on Route 38, which is a Corvette ride traveling through the country roads in western Kane County. The ride currently holds the Guinness Record for the longest tour of 2,223 Corvettes.
Tickets for the show can be purchased for $20 per day. The event is from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Corvette parking on the golf course is free with an admission ticket.
For information, visit http://bloomingtongold.com.