Bloomington Gold’s long awaited move to Champaign, Illinois took place last weekend as the show celebrated its 40th anniversary there. It was a year of firsts in 2013: the first year in a new location, the first year for the GoldAutocross, the first year of a new judging schedule, and the first year for the C7’s to attend. Our wrap up from Bloomington Gold 2013 awaits you after the break.

Bloomington Friday featured the GoldSchool seminars as well as staging for the weekend’s judging activities. Saturday played host to Certification judging, the Mecum auction, and the GoldTour. Sunday was Survivor and Benchmark judging followed by the awards ceremony. The Great Hall, GM test drives, and the C7 and Corvette Racing Display ran throughout the weekend.

Overall we think the new location is a pretty good fit. Those expecting the show to be held on a concrete jungle outside Assembly Hall (us included) were disappointed. We were happy to see a healthy mix of grass, trees, and shaded areas. Anyone looking to get out of the sun had plenty of opportunities around the grounds to do so. Overall the show layout seemed both closer together and more spread out at the same time. No longer would you have to walk across 2 empty fairways to get to a different event. The swap and vendor areas seemed bigger compared to the old home in St. Charles as did the GoldMine. We didn’t make over to the GoldTour or autocross, but if you did tell us about it in the comments below.

Like any first year event, there were a few hiccups (Friday parking was quite difficult to find), but we’re certain that they’ll be ironed out for next year. Based on what we saw, we think the first year in Champaign was a success for Bloomington Gold and we look forward to seeing what’s in store for us next year.

Enjoy our gallery from the show below and stay tuned here for more coverage throughout this week from Bloomington Gold 2013.

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