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The Stories Beneath the Chrome – Iola Car Show Reflections

Barefoot and grateful — sitting under the shade of my tent at Iola, taking a quiet moment between the roar of engines and the rush of connection.

The Iola Car Show wasn’t just a place to showcase art — it was a gathering of history, horsepower, and heart. Over the course of the weekend, I had the absolute honor of meeting collectors, builders, veterans, bikers, mechanics, and visionaries — each one with a story humming just beneath the surface of steel and chrome.

These weren’t just cars. They were memories. Legacies. Dreams rebuilt from rust. Engines passed down from father to son, father to daughter. Paint jobs layered with patience and pride. I listened to the stories behind the machines — stories of first loves, family road trips, garage rebuilds that took a decade — and each one made its way into the atmosphere of the tent and, eventually, into my art.

The music? Classic rock and Americana, pouring through the air like sunlight. The people? Some of the kindest, coolest, and most inspiring I’ve ever met. And the cars? Let’s just say… they didn’t whisper. They roared.

I sold art. I sketched commissions. I talked legacy pieces and met folks who understand what it means to preserve not just a vehicle, but a story. There’s something deeply powerful about turning motion into memory — and that’s what this show was all about.

Iola, thank you. For the welcome. For the wisdom. For the fuel — in more ways than one.

— Candace J Johnson
Photographer | Artist | Storyteller of Speed