By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
In an effort to recognize area first responders, the Thunder on the Plains Car Show will host a Cruise Night, with events slated to kick off at 6 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of Big Creek Crossing, 2918 Vine.
"We do a Cruise Night every last Friday of every month during the summer," said committee member Jackie Lang. "This one we are doing to honor first responders. We will have representatives from pretty much all of the agencies."
And in true car show fashion, those responders will have vehicles on display.
"People can come out and look at and see what they have got," Lang said.
She said the response to the event has been positive.
"When we first approached them about this, they were really excited and really pleased that we were wanting to do this for them," Lang said.
During the event, The Local Food Truck will be on site and offering discounts to first responders.
"It will be an awesome time," said committee member Shelby Doty.
While this week's Cruise Night is sure to bring out an array of vehicles, it is likely only a small part of the number that will roll into Hays for the main event scheduled Sept. 3-4.
"We have seen a lot of really nice cars," Lang said. "Not only cars; trucks, motorcycles, anything that people want to bring out to show."
And as the event continues, each year, more unique and interesting vehicles are displayed.
"We always see something new," Lang said. "You would be surprised how many cars are in Hays garages that have never see the light of day, and we would love to get those cars out and on the street."
She said even cars that are not fully restored are welcome additions to the show.
"If there are some of those out there in the garages, let's see one on Labor Day weekend," Doty said.
"We have cars that - maybe they need a little bit of work done to them, and they think 'oh it's not good enough to put out there,' but any car if it needs work, it's a project," Lang said.
"And there are a lot of them in a restoration process," she said. "Maybe we won't see them this year, but hopefully, we will see them next year."
While the events center around vehicles, other family-friendly activities are planned.
"We try to make it a family-oriented event," Lang said. "We have food vendors, merchant vendors, just a nice thing for people to come out and enjoy a day just being outside."
An onsite auction to raise funds is also planned.
"We have businesses that have donated merchandise, things like that," Lang said. "We are going to have a live auction. We have some really nice things that have been donated."
Some of those items already secured include a bar with a fridge, a Green Mountain grill and jewelry.
While the event in itself is designed to be a fun experience, the proceeds will also be used to help the community.
"The majority of our funds that we do collect and raise go back to the not-for-profits or those organizations that need assistance," Doty said. "Our major goal is to help others with the funds and things that we receive."
Since 2016 the organization has donated over $34,000 to local nonprofits in need.
But the comrade may be just a valuable.
"We travel to quite a number of car shows, and it's not just the cars that you see, but it's the friends that you have made traveling around. So when you get back together at these car shows with your friends, it's just a great experience," Doty said.
For more information and to register for the Car Show, visit thunderontheplainsks.com.
They also maintain a presence on social media, including Facebook.