Pigeon
Forge, TN – May 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / More than 750 Jeeps
and several thousand Jeep aficionados have targeted Pigeon Forge for the
Great
Smoky Mountains Jeep Invasion.
The one-day event is Aug.
29 indoors at the LeConte
Center at Pigeon Forge.
“This is only our third year
for this showcase event, and we’ve grown enough to need a major indoor
facility,” said Pete Brookman, president of the Smoky Mountain Jeep Club.
The club is headquartered
in Maryville, Tenn., and has more than 850 members.
Its first Jeep Invasion was
in Townsend in 2013, and the second one was in Pigeon Forge in 2014. Both
were outdoor events.
“Being indoors in August
at the LeConte Event Center will make this a quite different event and
will attract even more people to see a wide variety of Jeeps. Some are
true classics, and others are really tricked-out newer models,” Brookman
said.
Local and national Jeep parts
vendors selling Jeep accessories, as well as other suppliers of outdoor
and off-road products, will be part of the event. Early vendor registrants
are from Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Michigan.
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The 2014 event drew between
1,500 and 2,000 participants and spectators from 17 states, some as distant
as Wisconsin and New York. Contingents from Jeep clubs in New York and
Illinois also attended.
The event’s “All Jeep Show”
will have vehicles on display for judging in several competition categories.
The event will be open to the public. Tickets are $5.
“We have had other car and
vehicle shows in the LeConte Event Center, and the Jeep Invasion should
be a lot of fun,” said facility manager Phil Campbell. “It will take full
advantage of our biggest space, LeConte Hall, which covers 100,500 square
feet.”
The LeConte Event Center,
a City of Pigeon Forge facility, opened in 2013. It is designed for tradeshows,
faith-based conferences, athletic competitions and other events.
Jeep Invasion details are
at GreatSmokyMountainJeepInvasion.com.
Details about the LeConte
Event Center are at LeConteCenter.com,
and information about visiting Pigeon Forge is at MyPigeonForge.com.
Contact:
Tom
Adkinson, APR
for Pigeon Forge Department
of Tourism
615-341-8796 |