Carlisle Events Fought the Law and the Law Backed Down
Carlisle Events Fought the Law and the Law Backed Down
Carlisle Events has successfully defended the right to hold shows for Corvettes and many others makes and models.
The folks who run the Carlisle Events series at the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania have been holding massive car shows for nearly 50 years. The organizers have fought all sorts of nightmarish weather, but 2020 has been the toughest battle to date. Not only has the team been forced to work around the Covid19 pandemic, but they also had to go to court where they faced the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The state government was looking to prevent the venue from holding shows, but the Carlisle Events legal staff was able to present their side of the story well enough that the Department of Health dropped the case against the show venue. As a result, the organizers have been able to continue with their altered 2020 schedule.
Covid19 in Pennsylvania
While many areas around the United States were shut down due to the Covid19 pandemic, Pennsylvania has had some of the toughest restrictions. The state government set of a multi-tiered approach to allowing businesses to open back up. When it came time for the Spring Carlisle event in mid-June, the show venue was in an area where businesses were permitted to open with restrictions. The venue opened for the Spring event with those restrictions, only to be slapped with a lawsuit by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Although the Carlisle area was cleared to have businesses reopen and the event venue met all of the criteria, the state was suing the Carlisle Events organization to attempt to force them to close down. Should the state win, the venue could be closed for an undetermined amount of time, possibly putting an end to many of the shows planned for 2020.
Fortunately, that was not the case, as the Pennsylvania Department of Health dropped the suit against Carlisle Events, allowing the Spring event to continue. Going forward, the venue will hold more events under strict state guidelines, hopefully saving the bulk of the show season. Most significantly for the folks reading this on Corvette Forum, it appears as though the legendary Corvettes at Carlisle show will go off as planned on August 27 through August 30.
After the successful legal proceedings, Carlisle Events co-owners Bill and Lance Miller talked about the experience in the short video below.
The 2020 Carlisle Schedule Going Forward
If you are a fan of Chevrolet, the first show on the schedule that may pique your interest is actually being held this weekend. That is the Chevrolet Nationals, which starts on June 26 and ends on June 27. If you are a Chevy truck fan, the Truck Nationals applies to all brands and it is scheduled for August 7, 8 and 9 and as mentioned above, the all-Corvette event will be held in late August.
Finally, the last event on the schedule for 2020 is the Fall Carlisle event. It begins on September 30 and ends on October 4. This is another event that is open to all makes and models. It is an excellent event to buy and sell vehicles and parts.
Special Restrictions
If you plan on attending any of the Carlisle events on the revised 2020 schedule, it is important that you take note of the special rules. Like many businesses, you will need to wear a mask to enter, you will need to practice social distancing in the venue and you can expect that some portions of the events will be canceled. There will be less access to featured celebrities. Activities held at the grandstand area will be limited or canceled altogether.
Click here for a closer look at all of the unique guidelines for the 2020 Carlisle events. If you need more incentive to attend a Carlisle event, click here for a look at the massive gallery of images from last year’s Corvette event.
Images courtesy of the official Carlisle Events Flickr account.
