Greg Oliver, proprietor of the Royal Rose B&B on Beautiful Baltimore Avenue (along with his partner Andy Dorosky) knows a thing or two about antique cars.

In fact, he has come to learn that a gay car club is a heck of a lot more fun that a straight car club for guys who like to dress up their cars with more than just what’s under the hood.

"I’ve been a car fan since I was a kid," he says, and used to belong to all kinds of straight car clubs. When he went to his first Lambda International Car Club event in Massachusetts he couldn’t believe what he saw.

"Accessories!" he says. "Cars with mannequins in them, white gloves crossed on the front seats and drag queens. And license plates saying JUDY. So much fun."

And that fun is coming to Rehoboth Beach for Beach Ball 2007, the Straight Eights Car Club’s Silver Anniversary weekend Thursday–Sunday, Sept. 20-23.

In case you are wondering why a gay car club is called Straight Eights or anything else straight for that matter, here’s the scoop. "The Straight Eights Club is the Baltimore-Washington, DC chapter of America’s largest organization for Gay and Lesbian car enthusiasts—Lambda Car Club Internatio-nal (LCCI). And, ta-da, a straight eight is a type of car engine. They come by the name honestly.

Hailing from Northern Virginia, D.C., Maryland, and Delaware, the Straight Eights are a very active part of the 29-chapter 1800-member international organization. As such, they are required to host one invitational event each year open to all members. For the past several years, the club’s invitational has taken place on the second week in September in Rehoboth Beach.

And this year the Straight Eights will be celebrating 25 years of cars and camaraderie at the Atlantic Sands Hotel and all around town. There will be nightly soirees in three Rehoboth hot spots: Thursday at the Blue Moon, Friday at Aqua and Saturday following their big banquet at the Sands, they’ll love the night life at the Double L.

But the truly spectacular event, and the one to which the public is heartily invited is the Antique Car Show & Picnic Saturday afternoon, Sept. 21, noon–3 p.m. at Rehoboth’s Grove Park. On Sunday, Celsius hosts a brunch.

Rehoboth resident Greg Oliver won’t be the only hometown car enthusiast hosting the convention here this year. There are generally over 125 registrants and about 100 cars. That’s right, you don’t even have to have an antique car to belong to the club. Jerry Turlinski of the Lighthouse B&B is a member sparked by his hobby of collecting antique car miniatures.

Two more local Straight Eight members include John Meng from Double L and his early 1960s Corvette and Gary Bacon with his 1941 Packard convertible. Former Rehoboth resident Don Voth is always on hand with a unique car or two as well.

Greg’s car of choice for the show is his 1946 Ford Tudor (Two-door) Super Deluxe. The car has 167,000 miles on it and he just drove it up and back to Provincetown for a Lambda parade on Commer-cial Street and show at the Pilgrim’s Monument.

"I believe you should actually drive the cars," Greg says. Sometimes he’s been drafted to judge car shows and is partial to those cars with some street cred instead of being shown by "Trailer Queens" seeking to keep road wear off their cars.

So how did Greg develop this passion for antique cars? He gives credit to his Dad who "bought a mid-life crisis car" in 1966—a Ford Galaxie for $2,800. The car was Greg’s by the time he turned 16 and wound up in his Dad’s garage when Greg moved from his Akron, Ohio home to upstate New York.

"When I was 22 I wanted to go get the car and ‘hotrod’ it, put all kinds of accessories on it, and really soup it up. My Dad heard my plan and refused to let me have the car. I was mad at the time, but it really saved the car. In the meantime, I got over hot-rodding and found the 1946 Ford advertised for $600. Since he’s had it, it’s been completely re-done and shown all over the East Coast. He’s got that Galaxie back, too.

Now he can show his cars off once again at home.

The car club expects hundreds of area residents to come to Grove Park (behind the

Chamber of Commerce’s Welcome Center) for the show and picnic this year— and visitors from as far away as Canada and California.

And why not. Rehoboth’s legendary hospitality and tres gay sensibility is just the thing for the Lambda car enthusiasts. Be sure to come to the show and look for the fantastic cars—and the special car club groupie, Ida Ho. She’s from Philly, she’s a hoot and you never know what outfit she’ll be in next.

So check out the Straight Eights on Saturday, Sept 21 and you never know…an automotive emergency might give you the opportunity to watch, according to Greg, "a clean cut gay boy turn into a macho mechanic in a flash.

And don’t forget to look for the cars all over town as they arrive for the Grove Park event. See how many fantastic oldies-but-goodies you can spot on the weekend and wave to those Straight Eights as they go by.