September 19, 2026
Back at Rock & Brews
The annual Car Show for HOPE hosted by the Mid-Florida Mustang Club kicked off this weekend back at its old location, Rock & Brews in Oviedo. For the last few years, it had taken place at the Oviedo Mall, where I had a little more room to spread out with my van and work under the awning like I do at most shows now.
Going back to Rock & Brews brought me back to the old days of bringing my compact 8×8 popup. It was small enough to fit in my Crossfire, and people were always amazed by how much I could bring to a show in a two-seat roadster. I was too! I had to relearn my setup a little and update it with some of the newer parts I have been using.
Cars Started Rolling In Early
The morning started out nice and sunny. Cars were already rolling in around 7 a.m., when the vendors arrived. By 9 a.m., the main lot was pretty full, and everything was up and going by 10.
I got the chance to walk around for a bit and grab pictures of most of the cars, along with a few that really caught my attention. One was my old boss’s Iron Man-themed Corvette. The joke was one day he might actually fly into a show wearing Tony Stark’s suit!
A Few Favorites
Another car that caught my eye was what I believe was a 1968 Cadillac Coupe deVille convertible—unless I got that one wrong. Either way, it is one of my favorites because I grew up with the 1967 family Coupe de Ville. It is still on my lottery bucket list if I ever win, especially the convertible model, like this one.
The Corvair was pretty nice too, especially with all the extras it had on display. Of course, there was also a DeLorean that made the trip from some time period to be there, but I did not see Doc or Marty walking around.
Since the show is hosted by the Mid-Florida Mustang Club—a club I have worked with since the early 2000s when I got my Mustang—there was also a large number of Mustangs to enjoy. The 501st Legion Florida Garrison was there too, this is the local chapter of Stormtroopers from Star Wars that comes out their the club’s car shows. I missed getting a pic this year of them. They are always a fun draw for kids…of all ages!
Florida Weather Shows Up
Everything was going well until typical Florida weather hit us with a shower around 1 p.m., just before the awards. It lasted long enough to make the ground wet and attack my cardboard boxes again.
I do not think I have made it through a show this year without rain or some other weather condition showing up. Fortunately, this was a normal Florida shower, and none of the vendors had to hang onto their popups hoping they would not turn into kites!
A Familiar Venue
As a vendor, I miss a lot of the happenings and am usually packing up during the awards. Rock & Brews is a great venue for car shows and other events. It has always been one of my favorite places to eat too. The film group I have helped co-organizer for, Let’s Make a Movie, and other filmmaker friends have done several events there over the years. If you talk to Tavo, the manager, tell him Mike, the film guy, says hello.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by my booth and talked with me about their cars.
