If you drive down Main St. in New Carlisle on a Friday night you may notice a large gathering of cars loitering in the Autozone parking lot.
The thing is they’re not loitering; they have permission to be there.
“We’re not doing drugs, we’re not hurting anyone” says Zach Inman, organizer of the New Carlisle Car Meet. “We just want to hang out and show off what we’ve worked for.”
The participants of all ages simply park their cars, pop the hoods and then hang out.
Inman started the car meet 2 years ago to give people something to do. “I wanted to do something to let people know that New Carlisle is not all about crime and drugs. New Carlisle is more than heroin.”
“We started at Advanced Auto Parts, but we ran out room as more cars started showing up” explains Inman. “I asked Autozone if we could use their lot and they said yes.”
According to Inman, the group has only had one bad incident with the police, and that incident involved someone from out of town. “I ask (the participants) to be respectful. I tell them that we have a good thing going here and no one is going to ruin it.”
The New Carlisle Car Meet is every “nice” Friday starting around 9pm and goes until “we’re too tired, or too cold” explains Inman.