(Words and photos by Tommy Lee Byrd) – Every fall, the town of Dawsonville, Georgia blocks off the streets, and prepares for its biggest event of the year—the Moonshine Festival. It consumes the entire town, filling the streets with vendors, people and vintage racecars from the good ol’ days. Dawsonville has a lot of racing history, and it’s also the home of NASCAR legend, Bill Elliott, who was is always on hand for the festival.

The event offers an awesome display of old cars, most of which are Fords from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. And since the theme of the event revolves around moonshine, the cars that are on display naturally have the moonshine runner vibe. Lots of black cars with black steel wheels—the signature moonshiner look. Along with the moonshine cars, there are dozens of vintage dirt track race cars on display.

If you follow the festival down the street, you may think it’s over, but just down the hill is the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a sight to see by itself, but surrounding the building is a great car show and swap meet. We caught the event at the end of the day on Sunday afternoon, so the crowd had thinned out, but the car show aspect of the Moonshine Festival continues to grow every year. We spotted a few awesome drag cars on display, alongside a number of nicely done muscle cars and hot rods.

Check out Tommy Lee Byrd’s gallery from the Moonshine Festival in Dawsonville, Georgia.