Last year Don Summerlin and Rick Sanders came up with the idea of having a “best of the best” car show, held on St. Armand’s Circle in Sarasota, Florida, displaying only special vehicles - cars that either were part of Sarasota history, or of a higher caliber for some reason. All cars had to be pre-registered, and only 80 vehicles were picked from the list. The resulting show turned out to be a major hit - so much so that it became an even bigger show this year.

How do you improve on something as great as this? For starters you give it a classy name - Sarasota Invitational. Then you move it to November when you can draw a larger crowd of spectators. Finally you make it a two-day event, with street rods/customs on display Saturday, and classics on Sunday.

If you’ve attended this show, you know what I mean when I say that everything else pales in comparison. Many of you have been to car shows that claim to be the “Best of the Best”; I would personally rate this one the “Classiest of the Classiest”. For starters, I have never before attended ANY car show that had its own full-color program! Yes, booklets were given out which had nice photos and stories of some of the featured vehicles, as well as a listing of all vehicles on display both days. In addition, every registered car had - no, not a paper stuck on the windshield, but a nice Plexiglas stand, set on the ground, with detailed information on each particular vehicle.

Of course the setting itself ranks high on the classy list, and is every bit as historic as the vehicles on display - not to mention being a tourist attraction. John Ringling laid out this circle as a shopping district back in the 1920’s, as part of a complex which was to include a big hotel along with southern quarters for President Harding. The entire plan never materialized, but the shopping district on the Circle has become a national landmark - not to mention a great place to have a car show.

Bringing it all home, two of the featured cars on display were John Ringling’s 1922 Rolls Royce and Mabel Ringling’s 1923 Pierce Arrow. To my knowledge this is only the second time in over 50 years these cars have been on display - the first time was at the Circle last year!

Once again, just like last year, the show turned out to be much larger than planned. Area cruisers came from all over, bringing their own vehicles and parking them all around the Circle and on nearby streets. These cars simply added to the event by attracting more attention to passers-by.

Of course I can’t go a step farther without mentioning that, like most of our better car shows, this event gave back to the community. Proceeds from the event were donated to Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc., an outfit that trains and distributes seeing-eye dogs to the blind. It was a strange feeling to chat with a blind person on the premises - he could not see a single car, but as I described them, he smiled as he pictured each of them from memory.

What about next year? I honestly don’t know how this year’s show could be topped, but I’m certain Don and Rick are up to the task. CN