Nothing Finer than October in North Carolina
Growing up in a cooler, northern climate, I learned to appreciate the changing of the seasons. But I especially like fall. For me, it’s one of the few times a year where the weather is like living in SoCal. Yea, it’s like that in the spring too, but it’s wet in the spring. The month of October can be crazy weather here in the Midwest, so a trip to North Carolina for the C10 Fall Revival was a great trip to take just as it was begin to get cool here in Ohio.
I packed jeans and a coat for this show, but when we got into town, I quickly realized I should have brought shorts. Summer was not over in NC. Scott got there a day before me to shoot a few trucks and spend some time with the show promoter, Lu Perez and the Smith Concrete crew who hosts the event. They started this “gathering” a couple of years back on their beautiful property in Oakboro, about 30 minutes east of Charlotte. We heard they had a couple of hundred trucks last year and that they were expecting quite a few more this year, as people were tired of being cooped up by Covid.
I drove down the following day and arrived in the early evening – just in time to meet a few people before we split to get a bite to eat. I’m not one to talk food, but I have to tell you, the brisket I had that evening falls into my all-time top 3 meals I’ve ever chewed on. Before 2020’s lockdowns, I made it a point to go to live music events whenever I traveled. Nowadays, food is my entertainment, and brisket always plays my favorite tune.
Saturday morning, after my “brisketpalooza” the night before, I skipped breakfast and rolled in just as the sun had started to peek over the hills and the dew was still heavy. This was the only time of day that my long pants were comfortable. My initial reaction was that there was going to be more than a couple of hundred trucks at the show. Hell, there were more than that on the grounds before the sun was in the sky. We set up the CK Truck Mag booth and grabbed our cameras and split to explore the show. What’s great about having more than one guy at an event shooting pics is that you don’t miss a thing and each one of us looks at the same truck from a different point of view. Scott took off towards the entrance and I headed for the hills, or dew-filled lawn.
This event definitely had a family reunion vibe. The focal point was a huge barn surrounded by a nice stone drive, where many of the highlighted trucks were parked in or around. C10 Clubs represented from states all over the south along with a gang of vendors and food trucks. It was exactly the atmosphere we were hoping for. Lots of friendly folks and tons of cool trucks – more than 800 from what we hear.
As I was walked around, I noticed a common theme in this scene. Every truck is different, and I love that. At any other show, how many first gen Camaros, Tri-Fives, or early Fords do you see that start to look the same. Not trucks my friend. I don’t recall ever asking myself, “Did I already shoot that truck”. I remember each one, I even remember them months later as we lay this story out.
The setting, the season, the people, and the trucks were all just what the doctor ordered. I can’t wait to get back and get my dose next year.
The C10 Fall Revival is just getting started. Keep an eye out for this up-and-coming show in the future because with this group of people behind it, it’s going to be one of the premier events in the C10 world.
