Gearheads unite

CLOVIS - Classic cars of yesteryear and the hot rods of today were on display at Saturday's Gearhead Gathering at Marshall Middle School which kicked off the final day of events for the Clovis Draggin' Main Music Festival.

"It's fantastic," said Fred Modisette, who was showing off his 1960 El Camino for the first time. "A lot of cars, nice weather, just couldn't beat it."

At least five decades were represented on the Marshall practice field, which was packed with over 250 vehicles lined up for car enthusiasts to appreciate.

With so many different cars, trucks and motorcycles on hand, it was difficult for attendees to single out a favorite vehicle.

"I like all of them," Mike Turner said. "It's hard to pick a favorite out here; there's too many nice ones."

"I liked the monster trucks, the race cars and the big truck and I like motorcycles," said Mesiah Barron, age 5.

The event also included demonstrations of nitro car start ups, several different food trucks and a play area for children which featured a bounce house and a climbing well.

"I liked the funny cars and the dragsters, you just don't see too many of them around here," said Garrett Hatch.

For one family, the week-long activities and Saturday's Gearhead Gathering served as the perfect welcome to eastern New Mexico.

"We just moved here so it's fun to see community events like this. It's been a neat week to see all of the different drive-ins and the community getting together, so it's just been a really neat week to introduce ourselves to Clovis," Ryliey Greene said.

"It's really neat to see all of the different cars that are here and different styles, different eras."

Organizers of the Clovis Draggin' Main Music Festival said they were happy with the turnout at Saturday's Gearhead Gathering and the other events that took place earlier in the week.

Committee chairman Derek Cockrell said total attendance at all of the events last year was estimated to be around 20,000 and he believes this year's festival will top that.

"We know for a fact that the attendance at our music events was a big jump over last year and we think this year's Saturday events will be a bigger jump over last year as well," Cockrell said. "People come from all over because they love music, they love cars, they love community and they love all of this Americana that we have."

Cockrell attributed this year's successful festival to all of the community support.

"Of course it really doesn't happen without all of the volunteers and without all of our sponsors," Cockrell said. "You start with this plan and this budget and this vision of the entire week of events, but it doesn't happen without the money coming in."