By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
Vehicles of all kinds will once again roll into the city of Hays this weekend for the 11th-annual Thunder on the Plains Truck, Car and Cycle Show.
The weekend begins Friday night with the annual cruise night. Those who are interested are encouraged to meet at the Big Creek Crossing parking lot at 6 p.m. and join the parade of cars that will travel to Main Street and then to Municipal Park.
Thunder on the Plains member Jackie Lang said they hope the public will join them along the route, saying it’s a great opportunity to see some of the vehicles that will be on display during Saturday’s show.
“It's a great opportunity for somebody to come out and just watch all those great rides, just drive right by,” Lang said.
Once at Municipal Park, in downtown Hays, there will be food and entertainment, and the vehicles will be on display.
The car show begins with registration at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and runs from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.
With the addition of motorcycles and tractors in recent years, the number and variety of vehicles continue to grow.
“If you've got a project car that you're working on, that’s not quite ready to show. We've got a class for that,” Lang said.
"We've got rat rods, young cruisers 21 and under have their own class, motorcycles, tractors," Lang said. "If you've got an old tractor out there that you want to show off, bring it out. We accept just about anything."
The number of family-friendly opportunities continues to grow during Saturday’s event.
For the kids, there will be a bounce house, face painting provided by Hays High cheerleaders as well as an ever-expanding number of vendors.
“We have some new vendors coming in this year,” Lang said. “That's one thing we've been trying to grow is our vendor side. We've got an Avon representative that's coming in. We've got somebody that's coming in that's selling tallow soap and things like that.”
“So we've got some different vendors coming in, we're excited to grow that side of it and hope it continues to grow,” Lang said.
The auction once again returns at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with several different items to bid on. That includes restored pedal vehicles, tools, furniture and other collectibles.
The auction is open to the public.
The proceeds from the auction will once again go to Make-A-Wish.
Beyond Make-A-Wish, the organization also supports local students pursuing careers in the automotive industry through scholarship programs. This year, scholarships were awarded to students from Hays High School and Ellis High School.
Thunder on the Plains has returned almost $160,000 to the community through scholarships, charitable donations and local nonprofit support.
"We couldn't do what we do without the support of our sponsors and the community," Lang said.
Also new this year, they will be raffling off a 2004 GMC Sonoma pickup with the proceeds from the fundraiser benefiting the Sgt. Scott Heiman Children's Education Fund.
For more information, visit the Thunder on the Plains website and follow the organization's Facebook page.