Joplin to host annual car show and art show

The 18th annual Joplin Art in the Park and 17th annual Joplin Car Show will be held this year Saturday, June 16, at Joplin Memorial Park, and organizers are still looking for a few vendors and want more car show entries.

The Art in the Park is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes kids’ activities, arts and craft vendors, food booths, a beer garden, live entertainment and a horseshoe tournament.

“(This year) there are a lot of new vendors … a lot of new homemade and personal handicrafts,” said Kassondra May, who is organizing the vendors for the event.

During Art in the Park there will also be a Family Fun Zone which includes bounce houses, rides, a bungee jump, laser tag, face painting, food, cotton candy and vendors.

People can get a $10 unlimited wristband for bounce houses, swings and the Tubs of Fun ride. A $30 punch card for 10 games of laser tag can be purchased or the cost is $5 per game. The bungee jump is $5 per turn.

The car show will begin at 9 a.m. with registration lasting until 11 a.m. It is $20 to register on the day or $10 for pre-registration.

Check-in is at the northeast corner of the park and prizes will be given for Best Chevy, Best Ford, Best Mopar, Participants’ Choice, People’s Choice and various other door prizes.

Dawson’s Run, which includes one-mile and three-mile races, will be held at 10 a.m. with registration beginning at 9 a.m. This race is in memory of Dawson Fraser, an 8-year-old Joplin boy who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2011.

These events are hosted by Joplin Commercial Club which is, according to its Facebook page, a nonprofit organization designed to promote the general welfare of Joplin with help from community members.

To pre-register for the car show, people can call Rick Richter at 292-3581 or Tom Wood at 292-3339. Requests to register cars can also be mailed to Joplin Car Show, Box 8, Joplin, MT 59531.

Interested vendors can call May at 292-3873 or 589-4779.

Six vendor spots still are open, May said, so she encourages anyone interested to get in touch with her.

More information on the events and the vendors participating can be found at their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/events/220607002031839/.