Around 1,000 members of United Auto Workers Local 2164 gathered Saturday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of General Motors moving production of the Corvette from St. Louis to Bowling Green.

The event was a large-scale private party and picnic for members and their families from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the union hall at 712 Plum Springs Loop.

A variety of attractions such as a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, a cornhole tournament, inflatables for children, carnival games and a poker game with proceeds going toward the UAW food pantry were offered to members.

UAW Local 2164 President Brian Ferrett said the group has a picnic every year, but they knew the 40th anniversary deserved a celebration worthy of the occasion.

“This day is very special,” he said. “In 1981, General Motors moved the Corvette from St. Louis, Missouri to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and it was actually a summertime move. This plant is a mixture of people from St. Louis, Alabama, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and, of course, Kentucky. This is a pretty big deal. We put a lot of people, resources and money into this. We have been planning this for three months.”

Ferrett said local grocery stores and restaurants donated enough food to feed all of the members who were present.

In particular, he said Meijer donated 55 watermelons, Kroger donated all of the bread products for the cookout and Smokey Pig and Cotton BBQ donated food as well.

“The community’s support has been so super for this,” Ferrett added. “We had a strike two years ago, and we have been supported well since.”

He made sure to highlight the work of the UAW’s planning committee and Event Chairwoman Kathy Kingston-Miller for the celebration’s success.

“This is an important event,” Kingston-Miller said. “It’s (the plant) been here for 40 years and we are very proud of that. Our union has grown. This is even a bigger turnout than what we are used to. We got over 1,000 people at our plant now. I’ve put in a lot of time, and so has all of my committee.

The important thing for us is solidarity,” she continued. “We want everyone to get together and be as one. That means the most to us. This is our big thing to get all of our union together.”

Ferrett said UAW Local 1246 currently has about 1,200 members.

The Daily News previously reached out to Rachel Bagshaw, a communications representative for the Corvette plant, who said GM is planning to celebrate the 40th anniversary milestone internally “a little later in the fall.”