Walking into Bloomington Gold for the first time is like entering a large, sumptuous buffet. Where to begin? Everywhere you look there's another delicious dish, begging to be tried. You get an appetizer as you walk into the Interstate Center in Bloomington, Illinois, through the thousands of Corvettes parked just outside the gates, evidence of just some of over 40,000 people who attended from June 21-24. The main courses start the moment you're inside, with hundreds of Corvettes for sale in the GOLDMine on one side, and everything from pristine C1s to custom C4s ready to go on the block in the Mecum Auction area on the other.
The sponsor and manufacturer areas make up another course, with tents and transporters holding everything from new C5s for sale to "hard" parts, polish, and clothing. The main building provides a substantial helping, with registration in the Route 66 lobby, more vendors inside, and the Special Collection, displaying some of the most rare and valuable Corvettes in existence. Walking outside again, you can get into the real meat and potatoes of this event, the swap meets on either side of Main Street. There you'll find everything from a totaled C5 to Stingray radio knobs, as well as knick knacks and collectibles galore.
Next to the swap meet you'll find the Evolution Display, highlighting the changes in our favorite car over the years, and the GOLDField, featuring specialty cars, the Silver Salute, and the C4 and C5 Registries, among others. Diving in a bit more rewards the Bloomington diner with the house specialty, the Survivor, Benchmark, and Bloomington Gold judging field. This year's participants feasted on awards, with 37 cars taking home the coveted Survivor award for unrestored Corvettes. Thirteen of these took home the ultimate award, Benchmark, for those few Survivor cars that also achieve Bloomington Gold status. And speaking of the event's prestigious signature award, 73 cars took home the Gold this year.
And if all that isn't satisfying enough, there's all the spices and seasonings we haven't mentioned yet, like Thursday's "Corvette University" slate of workshops, the Hall of Fame, the Kid's Program, and the always popular road tour, which drew nearly 1,200 Corvettes to the roads in and around Bloomington. A more complete meal would be hard to find. And the answer to the question we posed above is, of course, to dive right in and sample some of everything. Go ahead--at this banquet, every dish is good for you.
Douglas Leach of Newport, Michigan, got a little help from a few friends just before judging commenced. Leach's '60 was rewarded with a Gold award. | 
Here's a rare one: Larry Martin's '57, sporting RPO 684, the Heavy Duty Racing Suspension package. Look closely, and you can see the brake drum cooling fins through the wheels. | 
It sure is sweet when all that hard work pays off. |
Hey, you gotta start somewhere! | | |