Joplin Art in the Park and Car Show set for Saturday

The Joplin Memorial Park and the Joplin Commercial Club is hosting its annual free Art in the Park and Car Show Saturday with events starting at 9 a.m. and ending around 8 p.m.

Commercial Club member Tom Wood Jr. said that the theme of this year’s car show is “If it Goes it Shows.” He added that this is the 18th year for the car show.

Registration for the car show starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. It will be $10 to pre-register a vehicle and $20 on the day of the show. Check-in is at the northeast corner of the park.

Wood said that the car show is a non-profit event, with the money raised going toward prizes, trophies and the expenses of putting on next year’s event. The categories for the car show are best Chevrolet, best Ford, best Mopar, participant’s choice, people’s choice and door prizes.

He added that the car show started after his neighbor, Rick Richter, who is also assisting in putting on this year’s event, finished restoring a 1969 Chevy Malibu. Wood said that he suggested putting together a car show to let people get their vehicles out for display. The first year the event saw 30 cars and has grown to about 50 or 60 cars, motorcycles and pick-up trucks.

Wood said the car show was also rated three years ago as the No. 1 event in Liberty County.

“People really enjoy it, getting together and seeing the cars,” Wood said.

He added that the event is nice because people don’t always have the opportunity to display their vehicles and, over the years, the event has built a strong attendance of people who never miss it.

The other aspect of the event is the Art in the Park.

Tina Wood said Art in the Park has been going on for 19 years and has the goal of raising money for Joplin Park. She added that the event has a free, family-friendly environment that everyone can enjoy.

The event includes children activities, arts and crafts vendors, food booths, a beer garden, live entertainment and a horseshoe tournament. Wood said that the event will also have laser-tag, face painting and a number of other things available. The event will start at 10 a.m. in Joplin Park and end at 4 p.m.

She said that, this year, the event is set to have 42 vendors, with the maximum space available being 50.

Live entertainment will display local talent and the food will by provided by local charity organizations, which will be raising money for their respective charities, she said.

“It brings everyone together,” she said.

Another event in the morning will be Dawson’s Run, with registration starting at 9 a.m. and the race starting at 10 a.m. Wood said that the run will include a one-mile and a three-mile race in memory of Dawson Fraser, an 8-year-old Joplin boy who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2011. The proceeds will go toward a scholarship for a Chester-Joplin-Inverness High School student.

After the awards for the car show are given out, Juvant Sled Drags will be held at the old Joplin-Inverness High School football field. The Sled Drags is also an annual event that has been going on for the past six or seven years, she said.

Sled Drag organizer Shay Richter said the event will have eight to 10 sleds registered in the race this year with the theme being Joplin Bulldogs vs. the Rudyard Panthers. He said racers will be wearing black and orange shirts that will represent the theme.

This year’s is smaller than previous Sled Drags. In the past, the event would go too long, but with the smaller line-up and the intermission show it should be able to keep people entertained and engaged, he said.

Shirts will be for sale for $20 at the car show as well as the Sled Drag, he added.

Wood said the money from this year’s event will also being going toward the park. The teams are made up of two people each and the snowmobiles that will be racing are rebuilt snowmobiles from 1980 or older, she added that the organization has put a limit on the amount of money competitors can invest in the vehicle.

The teams are auctioned off and the winning team gets half of the pot, she said, with the other half going to the park and expenses.

During intermission at the Sled Drag, organizers will by trying something new called, “Knockerball,” which is like soccer but participants are inside large plastic balls.

Organizer Kassondra May said this year’s theme, will be “What Town has the Biggest Balls.”

Wood said Art in the Park and Car Show is free to the public to attend and last year more than 700 people from the surrounding area attended.

“It’s just good to see everybody from the whole area,” she said.

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.

More information on the events and the vendors participating can be found at the events Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/events/291922591737571/.