Antique cars and historic attractions coming to Old Town Spring on September 29 and 30

Picture peaceful, shady streets in the cool of autumn filled with beautifully restored vintage automobiles. Wheels the Clown rides by on his unicycle, heading for a group of children who wait with smiling faces for the balloon animals he will make them. You are mesmerized by the over 150 shops, museums, and restaurants. The entire atmosphere is tranquil, laughter echoes throughout the town, and families spend quality time together, much as they did at the turn-of-the-century. The ambiance you have just seen, is Heritage Holiday in Old Town Spring, just 20 miles north of Houston tucked between I45 and the Hardy Toll Road.

This year’s event features the Long Horn Rod Run, and the owners of antique cars compete in various categories for prizes and awards. The streets in front of all of the shops are lined with these beautiful vintage automobiles. Vehicles from all eras are on display. There are cars from the 1960’s flexing their “muscles” as well as those from the beginning of the century that helped usher in the Automobile Age. They are parked curbside throughout the entire area, on display for the public to enjoy. Be assured their titleholders are never far away, and love to answer questions regarding their trophies.

This is a great time to give children a chance to interact with grandparents and learn about this piece of history. They can’t imagine not having cars, let alone cars that steak by at the speed of sound. This event is great for home-schoolers as well as vacationers. The car owners are proud as peacocks and know their stuff, they are always willing to talk about the history of their make or model. And when you are done enriching their historical knowledge of automobiles, take them by the Spring Historical Museum and the Civil War Museum, and add to their cultural information regarding the area of Old Town Spring. In addition, you can browse the town and find many historic old buildings from Spring’s past. This Heritage Holiday is rich in history and cultural heritage.

Everyone will enjoy browsing the shops with a wide variety of merchandise. These stores have all the variety of a mall, the uniqueness you would expect, and the atmosphere of small town America. Available is a wealth of merchandise from clothing, to books, to toys, to jams and jellies. Wonderful jewelry and beautiful glassworks abound. Both legendary artists and those awaiting discovery call Old Town Spring home. Come and enjoy the many galleries.

In addition, there is a year round Christmas store, two wineries and a store just for clocks. Antiques and antique dealers abound with offerings from furniture to Depression glass. Many of the stores have themes such as birds, Amish goods, British handiwork, German creations, and Dutch items There are collectibles galore, and even an old fashioned ice cream parlor.

This is a free festival, open to families and friends of all ages. It is scheduled for Saturday, September 29th and Sunday, September 30th. The fun starts at l0 a.m. and winds down around 6 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday. Parking is $3 per car, a portion of which is contributed to the Knights of Columbus for their charity activities.

For entry forms, send a stamped self-addressed envelope to Pete’s Miniature Motors at 406 Main Street, Spring, Texas 77373. For sponsorship information, call 281-353-9310. For general festival information, call 1-800-OLD-TOWN.