Malad Car Show

This year the Malad Car Show will be held Saturday, June 9 on Main Street.
There will be a “Cruise In” Friday night. Those presenting cars in the show will drive through town and later gather at the Malad Drive In. The “Cruise In” will be hosted by Lynn and Connie Price, owners of the Malad Drive In. There will also be a cardboard car show for kids that night.
“We invite everyone to spit polish their cars and cruise town,” said Ronda Neal, committee chairperson.
All day Saturday, the cars will be parked on Main Street for people to enjoy and JC Hackett will MC the event. Admission for car owners is $20 per car. At 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, the cars will be judged and prizes awarded, all of which are sponsored by businesses in town. The donating businesses will choose their favorite cars and that car will receive a prize. Some of the awards being presented are Best in Show, Best Original, Car Hop, Sock Hop, Cruising to the 60’s and Cruising to the 70’s.
There will be t-shirts for sale throughout the day along with other items sold by vendors.
A “Poker Run” is scheduled to take place during the show. People at the show will receive a map that they can follow to specific places throughout town. Once they arrive at the designated locations, they will receive a playing card. At the end of the hunt, whoever has the best hand of cards, wins.
The Malad Car Show takes all year to plan. The committee must keep track of people that have been a part of the show and send them invitations. Funds from the show go toward the city for other community events.
“It’s a bigger deal than people realize,” Neal said. “We advertise so people will come back and participate every year.”
“Planning begins in January,” said Lance Tripp, co-chair. “We get artwork for t-shirts every year and those need to be prepared pretty far in advance.”
According to Curt Elcock, car show member, there will be a showing of the movie “Thunder Road” at the Iron Door Playhouse during the event for participants to enjoy.
According to Lynn Price, founder, the show was started around 1997. The largest show Malad has ever hosted was last year, boasting 157 cars.
“Our community is all about hospitality and making people feel welcome,” Neal said. “The car show owners love the atmosphere of downtown Main Street. We listen to the car owners and take advice to make it better.”
A few car collectors will be showing in this event and along with many local cars and various cars from out of town.
“My favorite part of the show is welcoming people to our community,” Neal said. “I love putting all of those beautiful cars on Main Street and listening to the stories of the cars. People are always so willing to share their stories.“
“I like seeing good crowds and seeing people there having a good time and the community benefiting from it,” Tripp said.