Gentlemen, start your engines. Well, it isn’t exactly a high-speed event; cars in this race are more for admiring.

The first annual Athens on the Square Car Show, which will feature classic and vintage automobiles, will be April 26 around the courthouse square. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Limestone County Parks and Recreation Bicycle, Motorcycle and Vintage Car Trail.

Richard Martin, Parks and Recreation Board member, said at late week that the board hopes to let bids on work on the trail, which will include the widening of the roadway in several areas along the 100-mile route through Limestone County. The widened areas will be shoulders around curves or low visibility places where cyclists or slower traffic could move to the side, if necessary.

“This will also include signage along the whole 100 miles,” said Martin.

Athens High School sophomore Robby Thompson said he learned that the Parks and Recreation Board was conducting an art contest for a design to use on promotional literature for the car show and decided to submit a drawing.

“I learned about the contest on the Golden Eagles Bulletin,” said Robby. “I won a check for $50.”

Robby said he got his inspiration for the design of a vintage coupe from an old car site on the Internet. “I believe it’s a 1936 Plymouth coupe,” he said.

The car show, which will be part of a lineup of events throughout April to celebrate the annual Dogwood Festival, came about from a conversation between Martin and local fanciers about ways to bring people to Athens and to raise money for the bike trail.

Derrick Young, secretary of the downtown revitalization group, Spirit of Athens, an owner of a 1941 Diamond-T pickup truck, suggested having a car show on the square.

“I thought this would be a nice venue for a car show in the courthouse setting,” said Young. “Also, Richard expressed interest in raising money for the bike trail and after that we decided to have a car show. We’re not a formal group; we just meet at LuVici’s once every two weeks to plan the event. We found that there was no conflict with the April 26 date, so we decided to go ahead with it.”

Young said that although the group has not done a lot of advertising, about 30 people have signed up to show their cars.

“There are clubs in the Florence area and Huntsville who haven’t signed up but are planning on attending as a group,” said Young. “The interest has really grown in this; it’s really been overwhelming.”

Jimmy Smith Pontiac Buick GMC is sponsoring the car show and has provided the first-place prize: a $4,500, 330 hp, GMC “crate” engine. Other prizes are a wide-screen TV, as well as lesser prizes.

“These are the kind of prizes that get people to shows, especially the car engine,” said Young. “For the youngsters we’re going to have ‘The Gravedigger’ attraction. Advance Auto Parts has this monster truck mounted on a semi-tractor trailer and they take it around the country to different car shows.”

Pre-registration is $15; $20 the day of the show. Pre-register at U.G. White Hardware on Jefferson at Market streets on the downtown square. Registration on the day of the show will begin at 8 a.m. and will be cut off at noon.