It’s no coincidence that Gary Swanson’s triple black Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport is a 1967 model.

For Swanson, 1967 is a year to savor.

“It really brings back a lot of fond memories,” Swanson said.

“I was fresh out of college. I got discharged from the military. I joined the State Patrol and I got married in 1967. A lot of things happened.”

Swanson’s Chevelle will be one of hundreds of cars, trucks and motorcycles that will be on display Saturday, Aug. 10 during the 28th annual North Whidbey Car Show at Windjammer Park in Oak Harbor.

If Swanson’s car doesn’t seem familiar, his face might.

Swanson spent 31 years as a trooper in the Washington State Patrol, 22 of them covering Whidbey, Camano and the San Juan islands, before retiring in 1997.

“It’s the best beat in the state of Washington,” said Swanson, who lives in Oak Harbor with his wife, Carolyn.

Jim Woessner, who started the North Whidbey Car Show in the parking lot of an Oak Harbor auto parts store in 1985, is familiar with Swanson’s car and face.

“He gave me my first ticket,” Woessner said.

That brought out a chuckle from Swanson.

“I’ve known Jim since he was a teenager,” Swanson said. “He’s a really good guy.

“We all did silly things when we were kids. It’s part of the learning process. Tickets are sort of a last resort.”

The car show is expected to draw about 250 entries that will cover the grass at the sprawling waterfront park.

The North Whidbey Lions Club is back running the event after the Oak Harbor Rotary was in charge for the past four years.

The event changed hands in the spring after it appeared its run of nearly three decades might be in jeopardy.

“As of the beginning of March, this event wasn’t going to happen,” Woessner said.

Putting together the 2013 car show became a concern for the Oak Harbor Rotary after the event’s chief organizer, Al Bartlett, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident last year.

With the event’s immediate future hanging in the balance, the North Whidbey Lions stepped in just as the Oak Harbor Rotary had done four years earlier when the event needed leadership.

The North Whidbey Lions had run the show since its inception until 2009 when the Rotary took over.

“It outgrew the North Whidbey Lions Club,” said Doug Tyler, car show chairman. “Fortunately, the Rotary stepped up and kept it alive.”

This year the roles were reversed to preserve the event.

“It’s been an institution,” Tyler said.

Anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 people attend the free event, Tyler said, with the waterfront setting a big part of the draw.

“Most settings are in a parking lot somewhere,” Tyler said. “Very few have the beautiful setting Oak Harbor has to offer.”

“It’s a great event, attended by people from all over the state,” said former Oak Harbor mayor and longtime resident Jim Slowik. “It’s one of the best tourism weekends. It’s the same weekend of the Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival. Whidbey Island really builds it up. It’s a great counterpoint to the Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival. It gets attended by thousands of people.”

Oak Harbor’s Mike Harris is scrambling to get his trophy-winning 1956 Chevy ready for the Car Show. He’s spent the past month having the engine rebuilt.

“The engine is being rebuilt by a machinist in Mount Vernon,” Harris said. “It’s a stock 265. Those are hard to come by. I wanted to keep it stock.

“It’s going to be very close,” he said. “If I can’t get the ‘56 in, I’m going to get one of my newer ones in.”

There are more than a dozen different categories from muscle cars to high performance imports that get judged with a variety of trophies awarded.

Pre-registration takes place from 4-7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, at the show site. Cost to register a vehicle is $25 on Aug. 9 and $30 the day of the event. Gates open at 7 a.m. on Aug. 10.

Swanson has entered his Chevelle for about seven years, he said, but he’s been coming to the show for two decades.

After purchasing the Chevelle in 2006, it underwent a “complete off-the-frame restoration,” including a rebuild of the 396 engine.

He praised his wife for her understanding of his passion for such classics. A wife he met at Yakima Valley Community College.

“She’s the best thing I got out of college,” he said.

• The 28th annual North Whidbey Car Show is Saturday, Aug. 10 at Windjammer Park in Oak Harbor. Roughly 250 cars, trucks and motorcycles will be on display. Pre-registration is Friday from 4-7 p.m. at the show site. Gates open at 7 a.m. Saturday. Cost to enter a vehicle is $25 Friday or $30 Saturday.