Museum show brings cool cars, hot rides to Railfest weekend

The annual Four States Auto Museum Spring Car Show returns Saturday afternoon at the Four States Auto Museum.
The annual Four States Auto Museum Spring Car Show returns Saturday afternoon at the Four States Auto Museum.

Along with Railfest, the hot rides and cool wheels at the 11th annual Spring Car Show make downtown the place to be Saturday.

Held at the Four States Auto Museum, this year's spring car show should be packed with interesting rides. Registration runs from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. with a $25 entry fee per car. A $250 Best of Show award is given at 3 p.m., along with other awards. There's a 50/50 pot, goody bags, door prizes and a raffle for a 50-inch Samsung Smart 1080p HDTV.

The museum is located at 217 Laurel St., just blocks from Front Street Festival Plaza, which will host Railfest features like live bands, kid's activities and extreme trucks. Car show admission is free.

Sam Johnson, a museum board member, says the show has grown through the years, although the rain dampened participation some last year.

"It's really steadily grown. The year before we had about 150 cars here. Last year was about 100 cars or so," he said. "This year we're going to have a lot of Corvettes coming in. We've got some coming in from Shreveport, Dallas and Fort Worth, Little Rock and Magnolia, and some coming in from Oklahoma."

The ArkLaHomaTex Corvette Club will attend. Expect to see hot rods and '55 Chevys, too. The museum will have a few cars at Railfest itself to tempt people to walk a couple blocks and see the car show, which is the museum's biggest during the year.

"We're real happy with the city. They've always been good to us. We try to help each other with what's going on down here," Johnson said. He's not sure why, but Mother's Day weekend has always been the best for them to show cars. Working in conjunction with Railfest has benefited the show, too.

"We've really had a nice turnout with the car shows and the people have been real good to us," Johnson said, noting it's free to get in. You don't even have to have a car in the show to get a 50/50 ticket. It's a clean, family-friendly show, he says, where the kids can see the cars.

"That's what it's all about," Johnson said.

The museum is also open during these hours. It's donation only for admission there. The museum has been holding its monthly Cruise Night the third Friday of the month. That's for any sort of car and participation is free. The museum's newest additions are an old black Packard and a '48 Harley. Other cars displayed are a Ford Galaxie and Studebakers.

Annually, the car show hamburgers are a big hit. They'll be grilled on site this year, while other concessions will be available.

In addition to the Best of Show, awards are bestowed for such features as best paint job, best interior, most distance traveled to the show and more. "I think that's a nice touch this year," Johnson said. He hopes to see more 1950s cars roll into the museum lot on Saturday.

"We're trying to expand and teach kids about the past," Johnson said, recalling a neighbor's four-door Ford with suicide doors that he saw when he was a kid. He loved it.

To see cars you might fall in love with, check out the 11th annual Spring Car Show downtown at the Four States Auto Museum on Saturday.

(More info: FoutStatesAutoMuseum.com or 870-772-2886.) 

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