LJWorld.com / Wacky wheels will claim streets Saturday for Art Tougeau

Archive for Thursday, May 15, 2008

Front to back, Kayleigh Myers, 15, Christie Dobson, outreach coordinator for GaDuGi SafeCenter, and Krys Arkeketa, 14, work at painting a Chevy S10 pickup truck for the Art Tougeau parade inside the city parking garage near Ninth and New Hampshire streets. Several students with Wednesdays @ Liberty Hall were involved with the project.

By Terry Rombeck

May 15, 2008

Past Event

When: Saturday, May 17, 2008, noon
Where: Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H., Lawrence
More on this event....

Fresco Fords, classy Chevys and tacky Toyotas will roll down the street Saturday as part of the annual Art Tougeau Parade.

The parade, which features anything on wheels that’s been decorated, will begin at noon at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.

The parade route goes south to 11th Street, west to Massachusetts Street, north to Seventh Street and back east to New Hampshire. It will end at the Replay Lounge, 946 Mass., where an awards ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

After that, a block party featuring zydeco band Blue Orleans will go on from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to Saturday’s events, the cars will tour the city Friday as part of the Art Car Cruise, and a pre-parade party take place from 6:30 to 9 that night at the New Hampshire Street parking garage.

The parade tradition started in 1997. Last year’s event drew 30 automobiles, and more than 50 people rode on bikes.

Pat Slimmer, one of the organizers, says it’s hard to tell how many entries will show up Saturday — it’s a pretty loosely based organization. But entries are slated from as far away as Houston and Madison, Wis.

“It’s kind of one of those unique Lawrence things,” Slimmer says. “Lawrence is just a little bit different. It fits.”

Slimmer says this year’s entries will include a car from Kansas City that purports to be the world’s fastest art car and the Ambulance of the Future, a decorated station-wagon ambulance.