GLEN BURNIE, Md. – Every enthusiast who lives in the cold weather states dreads the time when the car show season ends and they have to put their Mustangs into semi-hibernation for the long, dull winter months, with no real events until April. For some that means their car is totally locked away, while for others the only activity would be weekly test rides to keep everything lubricated internally, complete instrument checks, and then go home to put it back under wraps. Essentially this was 25 to 30 minutes of cruising on nearly the same route every week running up five or 10 uneventful miles as the engine warmed up and bringing it back to the garage.
As I now head into the 2025 event season, it made me think back to the last time I’d taken my 2011 Mustang V-6 out to a show. It was back in mid-November of 2024, when my Mustang friends and I were down to just one or two good local shows remaining before it was time for winter storage. There was still one very good, large event to go to, and that was the Annual Veterans Appreciation Car Show, hosted by the Street Survivors of Maryland, and held on Sunday, November 10, at the 97 East Park Shopping Center, located in southern Glen Burnie, Maryland, about 10 miles south of Baltimore and just a 20-minute drive away from my house.
I grew up in the 1950's through the '70's in the nearby Glen Burnie Park housing development, and this much-newer shopping center did not even exist back in those 'olden days.' The area was just a few houses and a small convenience store. This event was a popular-vote show that was open to all vehicles, with 75 trophies available and several other specialty awards. The key was to go with as many friends as we could assemble to have any chance for winning. There was usually a huge crowd, and in the past the shopping center only allocated barely enough space to hold all of the entrants. Last year we were double-parked with two lines of cars going down the middle of the aisles, and all sandwiched together much like sardines. But it all worked out well, and we had good results from attending.
As we approached this particular weekend, the threat of rain that Sunday afternoon was lingering in the forecast, so the show was moved to an 8 a.m. start with plans to end by 2 p.m. My Mustang friends wanted to meet near the site at 7 a.m. for us to park together as a group and avoid the jammed parking lot nightmare from last year. This required getting out of my door an hour earlier than normal, but I survived. It was still dark when I rolled my Mustang out of the garage by 6:30 that morning. I watched the sun rise as I headed east on our Baltimore Beltway. The skies were various shades of red, orange and gray as the sun poked through the haze. The view was incredible!
My group of five Mustangs met in an area adjacent to the show field at 6:55 a.m., and then we drove in together and parked. We were within the first 40 cars and trucks to register. Not long after that, a steady stream of entrants followed for several hours, raising the number of show cars and trucks to an amazing 235. And this year there was no double-parking in the aisles, which was a huge relief. We were given our voting ballots early and told to pick five other entrants, but not ourselves. This was easy, as I had gotten to know a good number of these people over the years who own truly great-looking show cars.
By about noon, the organizers asked all of the veterans to come forward to the trophy area where they were honored for their military service while the national anthem was sung as well as other truly great American patriotic songs. There were a number of Vietnam veterans recognized in this group, including my good friend Leo Howard, all of whom are owed a deep debt of gratitude for their service. Not long after that the various raffle prizes were given out, and then came trophy time.
The announcer said that the trophies were awarded in no particular order, but then they gave them in the same chronological order from when we registered, from one to 235, so it was easy to track where we stood. When they got to car number 30 – my Mustang's number – my name was called, and fortunately I won one of the Top 75 trophies! The same happened with many of my friends. After this, the club awarded several specialty trophies, followed by their Best of Show award. Finally, the 50/50 winning number was called, with something like $950 going to the winner. This was the largest payout in the history of this show!
The event finished by 2:30 p.m. The weather held steady all day with no rain, although the temps only reached into the chilly '50's with a moderate breeze at times and cloudy skies, and only a few periods of sunshine – but considering that this was mid-November and always unpredictable, we really had nothing to complain about. This was a large and very successful show with many Mustangs in attendance and other impressive cars to look at, and I will look forward to going back again next year. Besides, having the opportunity to pay tribute to our veterans makes it even more special.
FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY RICK MITCHELL
