Hot Rods, Music and Moonshine – A Wilkesboro Trifecta

Hot Rods, Music and Moonshine – A Wilkesboro Trifecta

On the fourth weekend of September, hundreds of classic cars will take over the streets of Wilkesboro, headed to one of the biggest car shows in the area. The Prohibition Hot Rod & Moonshine Festival is a celebration of hot rods, moonshine and music that celebrates the culture of Wilkes County.

It all started when Blake Minton, a native of Wilkesboro, decided he wanted to do an event to bring people to his hometown. “Our heritage here in Wilkes County is intertwined with moonshine and race cars, as well as music,” Minton says. “I thought it would be great to incorporate a moonshine tasting into a car show, and bring all the things that are important to Wilkes County culture together in one place.”

The time was right for Minton to start working a new type of event. “I’d been running import car shows in Myrtle Beach and Greensboro, and was looking to do something with classic cars for a change,” Minton said. He knew some bigger cities like Nashville might have a larger population to draw from for attendance, but when he saw the success of the Shine to Wine Fest in North Wilkesboro, he knew he could make something happen locally.

After talking with Brian Call and some people with the town of North Wilkesboro, and enlisting the help of his car club, the Wilkesboro Crew, Minton put on the first event in 2016. That year they had about 100 cars and local distilleries at the Marketplace in North Wilkesboro.

The moonshine, music and car connection definitely sparked enthusiasm as the event has only continued to grow each year. This year, the sixth year of the Prohibition Festival, more than 600 cars are expected to line up on the grounds of the Call Family Distillery. Thousands of people will make their way to Wilkesboro to enjoy the music and enjoy moonshine from five different distilleries, all while walking through rows and rows of classic cars.

“This is really a unique event for Wilkesboro,” Minton says. “People will see things they don’t usually get to see here in town, from hot rods and rat rods to a ’41 white semi truck with a huge flatbed used to haul cars. We’re going to put an extension on it and use it for the side stage.”

Live music from two stages, the Mash House of Call Distilleries and the flatbed of the side stage, will entertain guests on both days. The Cadillac Three headlines on Friday night, and other bands include Them Dirty Roses, The CG Ballard Band, Southern Thunder and more.

Details:

Dates: September 23-24

Hours: Friday 5-11 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tickets available online or at the gate the day of the event.