Hundreds gather for premier statewide auto show

PALMER — Rev Alaska kicked off its new, annual auto show on Saturday at the Alaska State Fairgrounds — both indoors, within Raven Hall and outside, with dozens of polished rides on display and vendors selling fresh food. There were numerous cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, hot rods and other engines on display with several shows and demonstrations. There were even helicopters on site with LifeMed Alaska making an appearance and Heli Alaska offering scenic tours throughout the day.

Attendees were encouraged to ride in their engine of choice and bring it in the day of to participate in the Show and Shine event. There were about 50 awards given away in categories like best in show and people’s choice.

According to co-creator, Leon Reynolds, the event “exceeded expectations.” He said that when trying to start an event this large, there are inherent risks. This year was the chance to gauge the turnout, the feedback, and what to add or change for next year. He said there was plenty of positive feedback, with people being excited for next year and the many possible additions. He talked about adding live music, utilizing the fairgrounds’ racetrack for derbies and similar activities next time.

“Today was more of a community gathering,” said co-creator, Andrea Everett. “They wanna’ show people what they can do.”

“It really benefited everybody. It’s literally scratching the surface of the vision. This was to make sure we could put a system in place. The goal is to really expand on this idea big-time — I mean really just blow it open,” Reynolds said.

Justin Lemoine, vice president of Heli Alaska, said his operation’s time there was “very successful and very busy the whole time.” Heli Alaska offered two scenic helicopter tours: an eight minute ride to the Matanuska Glacier for $50 and a 15 minute ride up Pioneer Peak for $75. He said the flow of customers was steady all day. He said the experience with Rev Alaska was mutually beneficial and he would be interested in working with them again in the future.

“Yeah, we would be a part of it. It’s just like Arctic Man or some of the other events we do,” Lemoine said. “It’s the right demographic of people: thrill seekers, people that like to go fast and have hot rods, stuff like that. That kind of fits what we do, we’re flying at 150 miles per hour. Selecting events like that, that have the right demographic of people. That’s what helps make us successful, right? Those people are more apt to take a helicopter ride.”

This was the trial run for Rev Alaska and overall, the turnout seemed to have done pretty well, but everyone is eager for a larger crowd next year. According to Reynolds, Everette, and Lemoine, all three felt that having the event on a non-holiday weekend would increase the chances of more people showing up.

Reynolds said the fairgrounds provides an “amazing infrastructure” and he’s already brainstorming ideas to take advantage of all of that space and resources for next year. He said that a handful of people told him that with an event like this said, “The sky’s the limit.”

Contact reporter Jacob Mann at 352-2252 or jacob.mann@frontiersman.com