Wings and Wheels on Saturday at Ingalls field

The 7^th annual Wings and Wheels, Car and Air Show, is coming to Ingalls Field in Bath County on Saturday the 18^th. This huge endeavor is a cooperative effort of four Bath County agencies. Parks and Recreation, Office of Tourism and Economic Development, the Airport Authority, and the Chamber of Commerce are welcoming people from all over the region who are showing their cars, enjoying family entertainment and, being awestruck at the airshow.   Up to 4,000 attendees came to the top of Airport Mountain last year, and even more may show up this year. The day begins at eleven and ends at four. The date was changed from August to mid-July so that it would not compete with another major airshow in Wisconsin. There will be more acrobatic acts in the airshow than ever before.

Some of those acts, for those who know planes, are a Pitts Bi-plane, three North Carolina Warbirds, and an l-29 jet. Team Fasttrax, a precision parachute team will be back. They are the team offering jumps on Friday and Saturday. For those looking for autographs and photos with the performers, get there before the show starts which is at 1:00.

The cars are available to look at throughout the whole day, with the awards being announced at 3:30. It costs twenty dollars to register a car on the day of the show. Maggie Anderson, Director of Tourism and Economic Development for the County of Bath shares what is the same as years past, and what is new,

“One of the key elements of our show, of course, are the cars and we get about a hundred, maybe about a hundred and twenty-five cars every year, a variety.   We’ve got muscle cars, antique cars; I think the Corvette Club is coming in this year.

We always have people’s choice awards. This is a great way for the community to come out and say ‘I love this car, truck, tractor, motorcycle”. It’s been a very popular part of our event. We’re adding something special to our awards ceremony this year. We’re going to have a Pro’s Pick.

We’ve invited Fred Grafey with F&F Speed Shop out of Maryland to come down and look at the cars from a professional builder’s perspective, and select the five best cars on the lot. It’s being sponsored by Anderson Motorsports and F&F Speed Shop, and I think it will be a fun addition to what is already a great car show.”

In addition to rides and bouncies for kids by Big Country amusements, and freestyle motorcycle performances by High Rollers Freestyle there will be live music.   Celine Pritt, Tourism Coordinator explained.

“We’re going to have live music up on the mountain from eleven to one pm. The Travelin’ Hillbillies play a mix of southern rock with a hint of bluegrass, rock’n’roll, folk, blues, and country. They’re out of Harrisonburg, Virginia. They’re amazing.”

There will be a lot to see between 11 and 4’o’clock. Admission is 5 dollars per person, 3 dollars for children under 12, and under 3s are free. The event is a go, rain or shine, so dress for the weather.   Refreshments for every taste are the only things not included in the cost of admission.

“Come hungry, because we have lots of food. We have everything from gyros, hamburgers, hotdogs, barbeque all the way to ice cream, including slushies and cotton candy.”

So, once again, that’s this Saturday from 11 to 4, unless you want to try skydiving on Friday. For more details on how to participate in that, or how to register your special car, call 540-839-7202, or visit www.wingsandwheelsbathcountyva.org .