Lawnmowers will roar around the oblong track Saturday delighting crowds and raising dust.
The fifth annual Lawnmower Race, sponsored by the Pea Ridge Lions Club, is at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 25, on the Bill Patterson farm, Lee Town Road.
Race Day
Saturday, July 25
Gates open at 4:30 p.m.
Races begin at 6 p.m.
"It's our fifth annual race; we're hoping for a good turnout. Bring the family out for some good, clean fun!" Melissa Tjarks, Lions Club president, said.
The first Lions Lawnmower Race was held in July 2011 at the old raceway on Arkansas Highway 72. Recent races have been held on the Bill Patterson farm on Lee Town Road. This year's race will also be at the Bill Patterson Farm, just east of the Pea Ridge Vet Clinic (across the road from the Battlefield View Subdivision).
This unique event features modified, geared up and hopped up riding lawnmowers, capable of speeds between 45 and 60 miles per hour, racing on a 500-foot oval track. Many of the racers will be coming from the Yocum Creek Raceway near Green Forest, Ark., but racer entries have shown up in the past from as far away as Kansas and Nebraska, according to Jerry Nichols, Lions Club communications director.
Local lawnmower tinkerers are encouraged to take on building and racing a machine of their own. Lawnmower racing is fun recreation and a challenging hobby, and the enthusiasm is catching, according to Nichols.
On race day, Saturday, July 25, the gates will open at 4:30 p.m. and the races will begin at 6 p.m. Food and refreshments will be available at the race site, so fans are encouraged to come and have supper at the races. Plenty of handy parking will be available. For children, bouncy houses will be open for fun, and some special race competitions are planned for the kids. Race-for-Sight T-shirts will be for sale on-site.
The Lions Club is inviting other local nonprofit organizations to set up information booths at this year's Lawnmower Races. Booth space will be available without charge. To arrange for booth space, send an email requesting booth space for your organization to [email protected].
The Race-for-Sight Lawnmower Race is the Pea Ridge Lions Club's main fund-raising event to benefit the club's sight conservation activities. The club offers financial assistance to anyone needing eye exams and eyeglasses, and sometimes helps with more serious eye therapies. The local club currently is seeking to raise funds for the purchase of an eyesight-screening camera for screening the eyesight of young children. The screening camera is capable of detecting eye conditions which need to be seen by an eye doctor, and does so very efficiently and economically.
Community on 07/22/2015