Onawa's 23rd Annual Blast from the Past Car Show and GRAFFITI NIGHT Cruise
Onawa, Iowa
June 16, 2007
Pictures from the Classics Car Club of Onawa

The members of the "CLASSICS" Car Club, Inc. presented Onawa's 23rd Annual Blast from the Past Car Show and GRAFFITI NIGHT Cruise on the Widest Main Street in the U.S.A. on Saturday, June 16.

Main Street Onawa glistened with chrome and outrageous paint jobs as a couple hundred rods, customs and classics from the Tri-State area cruised into town. The event also attracted spectators back to Onawa in an annual pilgramage from as far away as Colorado and Texas.

The event kicked off with an early registration Loess Hills Fun Run. . .a 76-mile drive through the scenic Loess Hills of Western Iowa. About 20 participated in the drive, which returned around 2:00 p.m. for the huge Car Show already in progress in downtown Onawa.

Dennis Nelson of Onawa was the winner of $100 cash on the Fun Run with his '64 Corvette Roadster, while Doug Rush of Onawa took home $50 cash with his '70 Dodge Challenger.

Although skies remained relatively clear here (for a change) with hot and steamy temps, organizers say those on the Fun Run actually ran into rain on three separate occasions. This, teamed with a heavy shower in Sioux City and rain also reported in Omaha, may have kept even more participants from attending this year's show. Many cars that weren't Registered for the Show came later in the day for the Cruise.

During the afternoon, a variety of activities were taking place, including Gary Weldon's Puppet Show, live bands on stage in the Library Park, a fun-filled Elvis Show, craft, art and flea market vendors, a pedal tractor pull competition for kids and adults, kids games and activities in the Library Park, a dunk tank, baseball throw, silent auction, engine dyno, exhaust competition, remote control car races and stunts, including the jumping of a school bus with these small scale, motorized monsters.

There were also a variety of food vendors on hand with everything from BBQ pork ribs and sandwiches to kettle korn, shaved ice, walking and Indian tacos and more. There was also a Pizza Eating Contest where contestants could attempt to eat a large cheese pizza in just 5 minutes. . .to win $50 cash!!

The winner of the contest was Felicia Usher of Onawa, who ate the most pizza in the allotted time, beating out four big guys who thought they had it in the bag!!

A Gold Coin Toss was also sponsored by the Onawa Branch of the Blencoe State Bank, with the winner, Dick Stillman of Onawa prevailing by out-tossing Charlie Hitchman to win $50 in quarters!!

Trophies were awarded in 60 classes or categories and awarded to participants at 6:00 p.m.

At 7:00 p.m., participants fired up their engines for the GRAFFITI NIGHT Cruise down Main Street and Onawa's infamous 10th Street Loop.

The event concluded with a FREE Late Show at the Iowa Theater, featuring the movie Hot Rod 1979.

Major corporate sponsors for this year's event included our local O'Reilly's Auto Parts Store, McDonald's of Onawa, and Knoepfler Chevrolet in Sioux City, joined by a host of other local area and national sponsors helped make this event a huge success.

Thank you for the pictures.

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