The GoodGuys Speedway Motors Heartland Nationals car show drew thousands to the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines on June 30 – July 2, and the Kalona Area Chamber of Commerce was there promoting our communities and local businesses.  

“It’s a great mix of demographics; you’ve got people from all over the United States that come to this car show, East Coast to West Coast,” Chamber director Tonia Poole said.  “It’s one of the biggest events of the year, so you’re getting widespread people who like to travel.  A lot of them are retirees, so they’ve got the time and the funds and are looking for opportunities to travel, so we want to present [the Kalona area] as an option.”

Hot rod and late model automotive enthusiasts gathered to admire over 4000 rods, customs, classics, muscle cars, and trucks over the weekend.  Pie baking and watermelon eating contests, dragster and RC car exhibitions, and a fireworks extravaganza rounded out the show, which also drew attendees from our communities.

“A lot of local people go to this,” Poole noted.  “We met a lot of people from Washington, and Riverside people from our community that were there as well.”

Having exhibited for the first time in 2022, the Chamber had some experience for this show and knew just what to do to draw attendees to the booth.

“We doubled our booth size and added two vehicles to draw more attention and show off what we have to offer in our town.  We got great placement. GoodGuys really took care of us,” Poole said.  

The Chamber’s booth featured baskets, sauces, and cookbooks from the Kalona Historical Village; hats, bandanas, and cozies from Kalona Brewing Company; metal signage from JFH Metal Signs & Fabrication in Wellman; and the Kalona Traveling Quilt, for which raffle tickets could be purchased.

An Amish buggy and the Kalona Brewing Company’s restored 1952 Chevrolet panel truck – customized with two beverage-dispensing taps – were on display, providing photo ops and provoking questions from attendees.  

People were curious about the buggy, wondering if it were an old car, Poole said.  

“It was fun being able to tell them we still have these here today; if you come and visit us, you can see a horse and buggy that’s still being used,” Poole said.  “It’s really neat to make those connections with people that we probably wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.”

Kalona Brewing Company hired Shawn Maine to restore their panel truck a few years ago, and he hadn’t seen the vehicle since he completed it back then.  When he ran into it at the car show, he stopped for photos and “he was really happy to see it,” Poole said.  He had never put beverage taps into a vehicle before, so the project was memorable for him.

Our local area is home to plenty of car enthusiasts and related businesses, Poole said.  From working on Porsches to professional racing, collision repair to restoration, our own community is passionate about cars.  That makes it easy to relate to the aficionados at the GoodGuys event, and to encourage them to come here for a visit.