The Stovebolt Site Forums The Side Lot Midwest Bolters Association Midwest Bolters Association (MBA) Upcoming 2024 Event List - The Beginning

Welcome to 2024 everyone in the Midwest Bolters Association (MBA) region!

It's time to start collecting and posting upcoming 2024 events in our Side Lot area, so I thought I would kick things off with this initial list of Kansas and Missouri Swap Meet events. Here are a few of the major events I have found so far:

Kansas and Missouri Swap Meet events

March 1st-2nd
Kansas Sunflower Swap Meet for Charity -- at the Wichita, KS Century 2 Center (225 W Douglas Ave, Wichita, Kansas 67202) Sponsored by: H&H Classic Parts

May 3rd - 5th
Lawrence Automotive Swap Meet -- at the Douglas County, KS Fairgrounds (2120 Harper Street, Lawrence, KS) Sponsored by: Lawrence Region AACA

June 14th-15th
25th Annual Summer My Car Swap Meet -- at the Missouri State Fairgrounds (2503 W 16th St, Sedalia, MO 65301)

August 16th-18th
57th Annual Ozark Antique Auto Club Swap Meet -- at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds (3001 N Grant Ave, Springfield, MO 65803)



I haven't had a chance to do more research for other Truck Show/Swap Meet events, including looking in Oklahoma, Nebraska or Iowa yet, so anyone with knowledge of upcoming 2024 events in the MBA region please post whatever info you can share in replies to this post.

Looking forward to potentially meeting up with any fellow Bolters this year at whatever events were we may be able to gather. Until then, hope everyone stays healthy safe and warm!

Gdads51,
This could be of interest to some. I ran across one of these truck gathering events at a different location last year, it was in Norman OK. There was a lot to see but didn't have much time there as it was at the end of the day. Good picture gallery on their website from last years event.

This year it's in Guthrie, OK, which may be a fun trip for some. I am planning to take my truck there.

Event Information:

April 19th-20th
2nd Annual 2024 "The Truck Gathering" at 308-398 N 5th St, Guthrie, OK 73044

Note: See the linked site for current and future event details as it says they will update it as needed prior to the event.

hapydirty, This sounds like a pretty incredible gathering! If OK by you, I will do a bit of tweaking to your post to add a bit more details on the event. We may even start separate posts for each state as I think we are going to have a lot of event info to share. Thanks for posting and hope that perhaps some fellow Bolters get the opportunity to gather and participate.

I'm certainly going to look at my calendar to check out possibilities!

Yes, please tweak as needed.
I agree it would be great to see other bolters there. I also like the idea of separate state events. It might make it easier to plan which events a person might be able to attend.
Thank you for making up the list for us.

Thank you sir! Will take a bit to get it done and will put it my to do list for tomorrow. If you come up with any more, add them in and we will get them placed for everyone to check out!

EDIT: Tweaked and updated hapydirty's original post to add details. Unfortunately that weekend happens to be I and my better half's 40th anniversary. Won't be able to attend this time around. Hope you and anyone else that can attend has a great time and someone takes and posts lost of pictures!!!

Cape Girardeau, MO Swap Meet is scheduled for:

February 18th
2024 Cape Girardeau Swap Meet* at Arena Park (410 Kiwanis Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701)

Almost all the vendors are outside. Very few in the arena building. The park is the city fairgrounds.

It starts before dawn and most vendors and shoppers are clearing out by noon or so. As for being mostly outdoors and starting in the dark᠁.I guess it’s just “part of the experience.” That time in February can be super cold or quite pleasant. I’ve attended in shirt sleeves and the next year might be insulated bib overalls.

It’s a really cool event. Kind of a local tradition that’s been going on for a very, very long time. Lots of guys and gals grew up going with their dad or maybe even dad and granddad. I think it’d be even cooler if it was promoted a bit more.

* NOTE: Click on the FB link above for a few more details. It is an informational "text only" document that provides much more detail on the event and does not require the reader to sign in to FB to read the info.

Thanks JW! Schedule change today has me watching my not yet 2 granddaughter till 6:30 tonight. Not complaining - hahaha! Just noting as I won't be able to do any list/post updates until much later when working from PC instead of the cell phone.

Keep 'em coming folks!

EDIT: I tweaked the above reply to include more details for anyone not familiar with this long running swap meet. Thanks again JW!

I stopped at the "ol Marais River Run Car Show" on the way home from the roundup last September. This year it is scheduled for 21-22 September in Ottawa Kansas. It is a huge event with great cars and trucks showing, and Saturday night cruise through town. Also there are kids games, poker run, door prizes, trolley to and from the downtown areas.

I like to go to the Atwood Early Rod Run in Atwood Kansas. Small town, nice car show with I guess about 200 entered in the show and thousands of folks checking out the show vehicles. Dates are 17-18 May, 2024. It includes fireworks show, drag races, poker run, car/truck show, hog roast and dance, raffle prize, cruising around the lake, and lots of fun.

Both these events have been around for decades and are well attended with some really nice vehicles.

Mark

A Big Thank You Mark for your info on these events! I will try to see if there are more details available on the web and get them added to the growing list.

Mark, Before I add the details I found via the web for the Ottawa and Atwood events you posted, can you confirm the dates you have for the Ol' Marais River Run..."?

According to this Kansas Events schedule, the Ottawa event is listed for September 13th-14th. A check of the sponsoring club Over The Road Gang FB page doesn't yet show the event listing, just the 2023 event details.

Appreciate any further info you can provide!

Dan, I am not a member of the over the road gang so they may have changed things. As far as I know it has always been held the third full weekend (Sat + Sun) of September, with a more informal Friday evening gathering not part of the event. Here is a copy of the schedule of events last year (2023) and note at the end of the list is information about 2024.

https://olmarais.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2023-schedule-of-events.pdf

I hadn't plan to register until the roundup date is firmed up. They are on the same weekend.

Mark

Mark, thanks for the additional info! I think for now since the event is a ways out, we can merge what we have so far to put it in one spot with a note that we can continue to monitor the sponsor site for when they post this years official dates. Then we can update the info as needed.

I will work on cleaning this up so it's easier to read/follow along later today.

Thanks for the added info JW. Hopefully sometime tomorrow I will be able to consolidate the info, probably in your original post and trim the others stuff back a bit. Wish it was closer than it is. I'm an early bird for sure, but driving about 4 hours to get there puts it a wee bit too early for me - LOL!

EDIT 01/22/2024 - I consolidated the info from several of the posts/replies from JW51 and I on the Cape Girardeau event so it would be mostly all in his original post.

I don’t have much basis for comparison for swap meets and where this one ranks. Not something I would personally drive across the state to attend.

Lots and lots of SBC parts. More and more LS stuff all the time. Plenty of tools. There’s one guy who has just about any year license plate you could imagine. I think he has both MO and IL.

I do usually find a handful of Stovebolt-related items. I usually make a small purchase of some kind on a deal that’s too good to refuse.

All, After further consideration and input from some fellow Bolters, it looks like it will be better for everyone to break these events out into individual posts so it's easier to see them, converse and post more info and eventually maybe some pictures and tales from folks that attend them.

Please watch for new individual posts about each of these already listed events. Anyone that has other upcoming 2024 events to share, please start a new post for each event as we move deeper into the event season!

Thanks and hope everyone has a great weekend!