After 16 years, the annual Street Legends Car Show will be taking on a different look this weekend — with new leadership, a new location, a new name, and new experiences. The event will technically span three days including a kickoff at Friday After 5, the car show on Saturday, and awards Sunday. The weekend will also offer food trucks, a beer garden, vendors, and live music.
This summer, Jimmy and Janie Allyn took the lead in planning the first-ever Bluegrass Legends Experience Car show on August 18-20. After the former board of the Street Legends show announced they would no longer be hosting their event, messages began flooding Jimmy Allyn’s phone, as the community felt that he was the right person to take the reins.
“For 25 years, my wife and I have run a web-based service that has become known as Bluegrass Biker News. We use it as a tool to support local business and charity,” Allyn said previously. “We go around gathering information on events, so we could take a small event and help network it to turn it into a large event. We’ve been known as the bike night connection for the tri-state.”
After receiving the original board’s blessing to take on and restore the event, Allyn immediately began planning all the ways he will preserve certain elements of the traditional show while adding new and exciting components.
Cars, trucks, rat rods, Jeeps, and motorcycles will be stationed in Moreland Park to preserve the outdoorsy feel that the event has been known for over the years. The fun will span all the way into the Owensboro Sportscenter, with plenty of room for craft booths, a beer garden, car part swaps, and Owensboro’s first “Food Truck Rally” in between.
“I’m trying everything I can to make this an inclusive street event and to crisscross demographics so it’s not channeled at any one portion of the population,” Allyn said.
Another enticing aspect of the event will be the gift cards to area businesses that Allyn will raffle off at the top of every hour. In addition to these “prizes,” there will also be traditional car show awards.
“It’s not just about the car show, it’s about the people who participate in the car show supporting local businesses,” said Allyn.
Not only does Allyn seek to support local businesses, but proceeds will be used as a fundraiser for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, just as the Legends Car Show has done for many years. To make the fundraiser and the show in general a success, Allyn says he has recruited lots of help.
“It takes an army of people to pull something like this off,” Allyn said. “I’ve got a lot of regional car clubs, motorcycle clubs, and groups that are going to be involved.”
For more information about the show and its related events, click here.
