Stratford OK’s accommodations for car show

By Kevin O’Brien

Organizers of an annual car show in Stratford hope to make greater use of Klemme Park and the surrounding streets as part of this year’s event on June 14.

At the latest monthly village board meeting on May 13, trustees approved a street use permit that will allow the event to shut down traffic on Legion Street, from STH 153 to Larch Street, and on Larch Street to Scholar Street. A portion of Scholar Street was also set aside for the event following a discussion between Greg Weber and board members.

The Street of Dreams Car Show is expected to draw between 50 and 200 cars and other vehicles, depending on the weather and other factors, Weber said. The board also approved a waiver of the village’s open containers ordinance, allowing participants to consume alcohol outside during the event.

“Not that car shows are big drinking events – people don’t like to smash their $100,000 cars – but there are occasions when people will have a beer or two in their cooler,” Weber said.

Organizers are also asking the village to sweep the streets prior to the event and to hang flags on light poles in honor of Flag Day, which falls on June 14. Weber said the event organizers would also like to use the village’s parking lot east of Stratford Community Hall for overflow parking and for tractors participating in the show.

Trucks and tractors will also be parked on Railroad Street, on property owned by Allied Cooperative, he said.

The request that generated the most conversation dealt with the possible use of Klemme Park to display some of the vehicles. Depending on the ground condition at the time of the event, Weber said they would like to put some vehicles in the park DPW Scott Dennee said he would willing to walk through the park with Weber to figure out ahead of time where the best spots would be for parking cars on the grass. Dennee said he thought it would be best for the cars to be parked by the band shelter just off the access road into the park.

“I don’t want to fix a bunch of ruts,” Dennee said.

Village president Keith Grell told Weber that the village is willing to work with him and other event organizers to make the event a success.

“I think we’ll be able to accommodate most of what you need,” he said.

A SUMMER TRADITION - Wesley Napierala of Marathon stands in front of his classic Chevy 2000 271 Series V8 5.3L truck with his daughters, Nia and Hope, during the 2023 cars show in Stratford.

RR ARCHIVE PHOTO