​Carlisle Events Celebrates 47th Season With Its 2020 Schedule of Events

CARLISLE, PA –The 47th season of Carlisle Events commenced on January 17, 2020 and from the time the first guest or vendor walks through the door in Allentown, Pennsylvania until the lights are turned out in Sarasota, Florida in November, Carlisle Events and Carlisle Auctions have a little something for everyone. From automotive flea market only offerings to auctions, car shows and truck shows, special displays, guests and more, being part of an event in Carlisle or Allentown, Lakeland or Sarasota gives car lovers from around the world something to see and do 10 out of 12 months annually.

2020’s schedule started on January 17 with Auto Mania at the Agri-Plex building of the Allentown Fairgrounds in eastern Pennsylvania. This event is PA’s largest indoor and heated automotive flea market and also serves as a great way to beat the dull and dark of winter to mix and mingle with likeminded car folks. From parts shopping to food, garage and in-home must haves, Auto Mania is easy to find, conveniently located just off I-78 near Allentown’s famous Dorney Park.

Just over a month later, car lovers looking to enjoy Florida in February can follow the Carlisle team to Lakeland, Florida to join the snowbirds for Winter AutoFest. Held at the SUN n’ FUN Expo Campus just off I-4, Winter AutoFest has evolved into a must-do event! Carlisle Auctions hosts its first auction of the year with a 400+ car offering, while car owners and supporters of the hobby enjoy showcases of the Corvette, Mustang and all things MOPAR. There’s even a free cruise-in for all brands that either don’t fit that criteria or if you simply want a more relaxed experience at the show. Of course what would a Carlisle backed weekend be without an automotive flea market, car corral and even a showcase of top of the line motor coaches? Save the date, because February 21-23, 2020 will be here fast!

About two months after Winter AutoFest wraps, the “home season” for Carlisle Events commences. Spring Carlisle (April 22-26) and Fall Carlisle (September 30-October 4) bookend the schedule with six other major events jam-packed in between.

Spring and Fall each offer a utopia of nearly 100 acres of parts shopping, car buying and unmatched camaraderie with the combined nearly 200,000 guests that helped make Carlisle America’s automotive hometown.

Every event in between Spring and Fall offers a parts shopping experience either within the automotive flea market or midway, but the type of cars or trucks shown at each epically vary. The first specialty show happens in May and it’s the Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals, this year benefitting Driven to Cure. Running May 15-17, this show not only offers high octane activities like an exhaust contest, burnouts, drifting and autocross, it provides professional judging, a great car club atmosphere, special displays like 100 years of Mazda, 50 years of the Datsun/Nissan Z and dozens of classes; all while showcasing over 2,000 of the best rides from around the world.

The first full weekend of June (5-7) the Carlisle Ford Nationals presented by Meguiars celebrates its 25th anniversary and welcomes nearly 60,000 guests and over 3,000 cars to the National Parts Depot Showfield. Special guests are still TBA, but special displays are nearly finalized. To date, Ford weekend spotlights the Grabber 50th anniversary, 15th anniversary of the Ford GT, a Euro Ford garage with the 50th anniversary of the Capri and 35th anniversary of the Merkur, a Thunderbird reunion and a Starliner reunion. Ford weekend also offers a downtown Carlisle Ford parade and street party, Ford executives hosting product showcases and seminars, there’s onsite installs and of course the FREE test drives at the neighboring Carlisle Expo Center.

Just a few weeks later, the Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals (June 26-27) host around 1,000 rides that span the history of the brand. The National Parts Depot Showfield not only hosts all Chevy branded rides, but welcomes Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Cadillac and more! Displays for 2020 include 50 years of the Monte Carlo, Novas at Carlisle, the Solid Lifter Showroom, Featured Vehicle Display spotlighting GMs of the ‘70s within Building T, and much like Ford weekend, guests are still TBA.

Up next and spanning July 10-12, the grounds come to life again with the world’s largest all Mopar themed weekend, the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals. This three-day event really launches the day before with a 200+ car cruise-in at the Carlisle Expo Center, then quickly transitions to a nearly 3,000 car event at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds. Display highlights include 50 years of the following: Dodge Challenger, AAR & T/A, Plymouth Duster, Superbird and Pro Stock. Chrysler weekend also spotlights some of the best rides from 1970, while showcasing some of the best of the best within Building T’s Featured Vehicle Display. Parts shopping is also a big deal every July at Carlisle with the largest all-Mopar themed automotive flea market in the world drawing shopping hopefuls from around the world. Burnouts, a club challenge and more help power this annual summer gathering of all things Mopar.

August offers the last full month of summer as well as two of the hottest automotive events on the season schedule. The Carlisle Truck Nationals presented by A&A Auto Stores (August 7-9) is the most family-friendly event on the Carlisle Events schedule. With monster truck shows, cool custom vans, a family fun zone and trucks of all sizes, kids and adults alike will be wowed by real life versions of the toys they played with as kids. From the special displays in Buildings T and Y to the eclectic mix of trucks on the judged and non-judged showfields, there’s shapes, sizes, styles and eras of trucks for as far as the eye can see.

The final specialty event of the year starts Thursday, August 27 and it’s THE car show that put Carlisle Events on the map; Corvettes at Carlisle presented by Top Flight Automotive. Over the course of the event, Team Chevrolet members join over 60,000 guests and 5,000+ Corvettes to celebrate America’s Sportscar. There are product walkarounds, a downtown Corvette parade and street party, special displays like ones focused on 1970 Corvettes, seminars, special guests and more. 2020 is also expected to showcase more 2020 Corvettes in one place than anywhere else outside of the factory. The 2020 Motor Trend Car of the Year stood front and center in 2019 and expectations are similar for August of 2020 as well.

Much like the Import & Performance Nationals, each specialty event noted above includes a burnout contest, track activities, car club gatherings, other fun automotive based activities including (at select shows) an off road course, low car limbo, exhaust contest, high and low truck showdown and there are different classes for the variety of vehicles to be able to park in regardless of event.

Lastly, not only does Carlisle Events bring automotive excitement to central Pennsylvania, Carlisle Auctions does so too. For the Carlisle Auctions team, three events are held in Carlisle and done so in conjunction with events, with two more auctions taking place in Florida. Auction season commences on February 21 with an offering within Winter AutoFest in Lakeland (400+ consignments). Up next is the Spring Carlisle auction starting April 23 (500+ consignments) followed by the Summer Sale on June 27 (200+ consignments). This auction serves as a nice compliment to the Carlisle Chevrolet Nationals and offers an all-Chevrolet hour during the day too. The final two auctions take place starting October 1 with the Fall Carlisle auction (500+ consignments) and November 13 brings the auction team back to Florida for Sunset Carlisle (400+ consignments). Other than the Summer Sale which is a single day offering, each auction spans two days.

The 2020 Carlisle Events and Carlisle Auctions schedule is as follows:

Carlisle Events is a partner or producer of over a dozen annual collector car/truck events. Events are held at the Carlisle PA Fairgrounds (Carlisle, PA), Allentown Fairgrounds (Allentown, PA), the Sunset Auction Facility (Sarasota, FL) and the SUN ‘n FUN Expo Campus (Lakeland, FL). The season schedule includes four automotive flea markets of varying size, five auctions, as well as individual specialty shows featuring Corvettes, Fords, GMs, Chryslers, trucks, imports, tuners and performance sport compacts. Founded in 1974 by friends Bill Miller and Chip Miller, events hosted at Carlisle attract more than half a million enthusiasts annually from all corners of the globe. More information is available at www.CarlisleEvents.com or www.CarlisleAuctions.com.