Nashville — Corvette 50th Anniversary Festivities

The finish line at the National Corvette Museum on June 26 was the end of the ALL50 road trip. But it wasn't the end of the week.

The Corvette 50th Anniversary celebration extended through the weekend and into the following week, with Nashville serving as the hub for a massive gathering of Corvette owners, enthusiasts, and fans from across the country and around the world.

Ray and Karen spent the weekend in Nashville enjoying the festivities — car shows, driving events, concerts, and the company of thousands of fellow Corvette lovers who had come to mark the 50th birthday of America's sports car.

On Monday, June 30, everyone made the drive back to Bowling Green for the official Corvette Birthday celebration at the National Corvette Museum — the formal conclusion of the 50th anniversary events.

Photos from the Day

Nashville — Music City Meets Corvette City

Nashville is not typically associated with Corvettes — it's Music City, home of country music, the Grand Ole Opry, and Honky Tonk Highway. But for one weekend in late June 2003, it was also Corvette City.

The 50th anniversary events drew an estimated 8,000 Corvettes to the Nashville area — one of the largest gatherings of Corvettes in history. The streets of downtown Nashville were lined with them.

The Official Corvette Birthday

The official Corvette Birthday celebration on June 30 at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green was the culmination of the entire 50th anniversary year. The first Corvette had rolled off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan on June 30, 1953 — exactly 50 years earlier.

Ray had timed the entire ALL50 road trip to arrive back at the museum as part of the 1,000-Corvette convoy on June 26, four days before the official birthday. The Nashville festivities were the bridge between the finish line and the birthday party.