Cars and Cannons Vintage Car Show is a unique, once-a-year, opportunity to see more than sixty vintage and classic cars inside historic Fort Clinch. It is Saturday, September 23, 2023, 9 am – 2 pm. The public is invited to view these cars inside the walls of this unique 19th-century coastal fort setting. Visiting Fort Clinch State Park is special anytime, but the day of the Cars and Cannons Vintage Car Show is a bonus. Attendees will vote for a “People’s Choice Award” among the cars on display.

The regular park entry fee of $6 per vehicle (2 to 8 people) or $4 per single-occupant vehicle is required along with $2.50 per person for fort admission. The Park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset, while the fort is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Do you own a vintage car, 1998 or older, and have an interest in showing your car at this unique 19th-century coastal fort setting? More information and registration.

Registration is $50 and all cars must be pre-registered by September 17. This is a cruise-in event and owners are responsible for driving their cars to the park and into the fort. Registered participants receive a one-year membership with the Friends of Fort Clinch which includes 12 free park visits for the year. 

This classic vintage car show event benefits the Friends of Fort Clinch. The Friends exist to support the preservation of Florida's natural and cultural resources while providing outstanding recreational and educational opportunities to the public in Fort Clinch State Park. Through fundraising and grant acquisitions, the Friends enable restoration projects at historic Fort Clinch, support special events and educational programming, provide tools and equipment to assist park rangers, and expand and improve the park's renowned living history program.

Friends of Fort Clinch (FOFC), a nonprofit Citizen Support Organization dedicated to supporting the Florida Parks’ mission of providing resource based recreation while preserving, interpreting, and restoring the natural and cultural resources of Fort Clinch State Park, on Saturday, April 22, teamed up with two of Nassau County’s largest employers, RYAM and WestRock, for a Family Fun Mill Day.

Employees and families from all three organizations spent the day at Fort Clinch participating in service projects, as well as nature activities and historical tours. The event raised over $28,000 to support the park, with RYAM and WestRock donating funds for beautification and improvements, matched by FOFC.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for employees and families from the two mills to come together and support the preservation of Fort Clinch State Park, ” said Stewart Pikula, President of FOFC’s Board of Directors. “We’re grateful to RYAM and WestRock for their generous donations and hard work in making this event a success. Park Manager, Heath Alboher had the original idea to bring the groups together 3 years ago, but Covid delayed having the work day.  Looking back, Fort Clinch became a state park in 1937, just as both mills were beginning construction of their facilities.  Over the last 86 years, all three have flourished and contributed significantly to our community. It was time to bring the three of us together. We all had a great time and look forward to making this an annual event.”

The service project included installing new fencing, landscaping improvements near the Museum and Visitor Center, replacing ground cover, a beach clean-up, maintenance tasks inside the fort including laying sod, painting and restoring period-authentic furnishings, and installation of new ADA-approved playground equipment.

Both mills are committed to supporting Florida’s natural spaces and heritage sites. RYAM is a leading global supplier of renewable and environmentally-friendly alternatives to plastics and fossil fuel-based products. WestRock is a leader in sustainable, fiber-based packaging solutions.

“Fort Clinch State Park holds important environmental conservation and historical value for Fernandina Beach and we are pleased to have partnered with Friends of Fort Clinch and WestRock to support preservation efforts for the fort and park,” said Mark Homans, Plant Manager at RYAM’s Fernandina Beach location. “When people are excited and willing to improve the park in a hands-on way, it really demonstrates the power of our community.”

Dan Rowland, General Manager of West Rock, added “our ~600 local employees live, work, volunteer, and play in our community.  Mill Day is a great way for WestRock to support the community and have fun doing it”.

Fort Clinch enhances the lives of 400,000 visitors annually. To become a member or learn more about Friends of Fort Clinch’s ongoing conservation and support efforts, visit their website, FortClinch.org.

About Friends of Fort Clinch

The Friends of Fort Clinch, Inc. (FOFC) is a non-profit known as a Citizen Support Organization (CSO). Any and all money raised by FOFC goes directly to fund Fort Clinch State Park projects which would not be funded by the State of Florida. Through fundraising and grant acquisitions, the FOFC enables restoration projects at historic Fort Clinch, supports special events and educational programming, provides tools and equipment to assist park rangers, and expands and improves the park's renowned living history program. FOFC works closely with the local community and endeavors to be an integral part of Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach and Nassau County.

Cars and Cannons is a unique, once-a-year, opportunity to see more than sixty vintage and classic cars inside historic Fort Clinch. The car show is on Saturday, September 24, 2021, 9 am – 2 pm and the public is invited to view these cars inside the walls of this unique 19th-century coastal fort setting. Visiting Fort Clinch State Park is special anytime, but the day of the Cars and Cannons Vintage Car Show is a bonus. Attendees will vote for a “People’s Choice Award” among the cars on display.

The regular park entry fee of $6 per vehicle (2 to 8 people) or $4 single-occupant vehicle is required along with $2.50 per person for fort admission. The Park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset, while the fort is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Do you own a vintage car, 1997 or older, and have an interest in showing your car inside this very unique 19th-century coastal fort setting? This is an exclusive opportunity to participate in the 4th Annual Cars and Cannon Vintage Car Show.  Go to www.fortclinch.org  for more information and to register.

All cars must be pre-registered. Any car entered must not exceed 90” in width so it can fit into the fort. Registration closes on September 19. There will be no day of show registration. This is a cruise-in event and owners are responsible for driving their cars to the park and into the fort.

Cars and Cannons registration is $50 per car. Registered participants receive a one-year Friends of Fort Clinch membership, valued at $72. This membership includes 12 FREE park visits for the year.  

All proceeds are for the benefit of Fort Clinch State Park. The Friends exist to support the preservation of Florida's natural and cultural resources while providing outstanding recreational and educational opportunities to the public in Fort Clinch State Park. Through fundraising and grant acquisitions, the Friends enable restoration projects at historic Fort Clinch, support special events and educational programming, provide tools and equipment to assist park rangers, and expand and improve the park's renowned living history program.

Cannons on the Plaza is  Saturday, June 11th, from 10 am to 3 pm at Old Town Fernandina. Fort Clinch State Park and the Friends of Fort Clinch are having this FREE event at Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park in Old Town.

Fort Clinch volunteers and staff will be in period soldier uniforms and will perform firing demonstrations.

Zero Feet Above recently donated $2,000 from the 2022 Florida Roots Trail Race to the Friends of Fort Clinch. 

The annual event was established in 2020 and consists of 50K, 30K, and 10K events utilizing the park’s many trails. With its increasing popularity, current plans are to expand the field of participants in 2023.  

Title sponsor Athletic Brewing Company (non-alcoholic), Omega Forensic Engineering, and local sponsors Mythic Running, Lakeside at Amelia Island, Nana Teresa’s, Brightway Fernandina, Amelia Bait and Tackle made contributions bringing the donation total to $2,000.

Pictured are Daniel Larkin and Alex Johnston of Zero Feet Above, Stewart Pikula, President of Friends of Fort Clinch, and Heath Alboher, Fort Clinch Park Manager. 

Friends of Fort Clinch is a 501 (3)(c) citizen support organization that exists to support the preservation of Florida’s natural and cultural resources while providing outstanding recreational and educational opportunities to the public in Fort Clinch State Park.

Friends of Fort Clinch Members,

Our annual membership meeting will be held at noon, December 11, 2021, in the Visitor’s Center conference room at Fort Clinch.

You many participate in person, via Zoom, or by phone.

Click here for the meeting agenda, Board Member election nominee bios, and the ballot of 2021 board nominees for those who want to mail in their vote.

Members in attendance will vote by ballot. Zoom participating members will be able to vote their ballot by a visual “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.” Those listening in via phone will be able to vote verbally “yea” or “nay.”

For write in nominations, problems, or confidentiality concerns of those participating in the meeting, ballots can be mailed to Friends of Fort Clinch, 2601 Atlantic Ave, Fernandina Beach 32034. Notifying us of your planned mail-in ballot, is required during the meeting. The deadline for receipt of any mailed ballot, is December 21, 2021.

We will hold a raffle while votes are being tallied. The drawings will be from among attendees, on-line names, or call-in phone numbers associated with memberships. Any prizes awarded can be picked up at the ranger station beginning on Tuesday December 14.

We look forward to your participation in our meeting.

Stewart Pikula, FOFC President

Fort Clinch State Park was the location of Cars and Cannons, where visitors had the unique opportunity to admire over 50 classic cars on display within the footprint of the historic fort. Over 1000 attendees enjoyed the beautiful weather, hearing the stories behind each vehicle from the car’s owners, and voting for their favorite car at the show. Alongside the cars, visitors took in the history of the fort and were able to see and hear the firing of the Civil War era cannons numerous times during the event.

The winner of the award for People’s Choice went to Doug Blackburn of Fernandina Beach for his 1965 Azure Blue Ford Thunderbird.

Cars and Cannons is an annual event hosted by Auto Legends Amelia and the Friends of Fort Clinch.

Doug Blackburn receives his trophy for People’s Choice from Friends of Fort Clinch President, Stewart Pikula. 

Cars and Cannons is a unique, once a year, opportunity to see more than fifty vintage and classic cars inside historic Fort Clinch. The car show is on Saturday, September 25, 2021, 10 am – 2 pm and the public is invited to view these cars inside the walls of this unique 19th-century coastal fort setting. Visiting Fort Clinch State Park is special anytime, but the day of the Cars and Cannons Vintage Car Show is an extra bonus. Attendees will vote for a “People’s Choice Award” among the cars on display.

The regular park entry fee of $6 per vehicle (2 to 8 people) or $4 single-occupant vehicle is required along with $2.50 per person for fort admission. The Park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset, while the fort is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Do you own a vintage car, 1996 or older, and have an interest in showing your car at this unique 19th-century coastal fort setting? Go to www.friendsoffortclinchinc.org  for more information and to register.

All cars must be pre-registered by September 21 and the registration is $35 per car. There will be no day of show registration. This is a cruise-in event and owners are responsible for driving their cars to the park and into the fort. Registered participants receive a one-year membership with the Friends of Fort Clinch which includes 12 FREE park visits for the year. 

This classic vintage car show event benefits the Friends of Fort Clinch. The Friends exist to support the preservation of Florida's natural and cultural resources while providing outstanding recreational and educational opportunities to the public in Fort Clinch State Park. Through fundraising and grant acquisitions, the Friends enable restoration projects at historic Fort Clinch, support special events and educational programming, provide tools and equipment to assist park rangers and expand and improve the park's renowned living history program.

By Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D.

August 12, 2021

My recent day started with a routine medical appointment, then I had a couple of hours to kill before meeting friends for lunch. Instead of going directly home, I took the long way, through Fort Clinch State Park, and never made it home at all that morning. Read the complete article.