By Billy Davis

The number of automobiles displayed at “Show-Off on the Square” is growing every year, and Saturday’s parade of vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles will be no exception.

Mississippi Delta Street Rods registered more than 220 automobiles last year, just the second year of “Show-Off.”

Delta Street Rods spokesman Darrell Martin said Thursday he expects as many as 250 entries to cruise into the Downtown Square.

The third annual “Show-Off” moves into a two-day event beginning tonight, when Memphis DJ Alex Ward brings his long-running Oldies show, Pig ‘N’ Whistle, to the Square. The show begins at 7 p.m.
Saturday, the automobiles will be on display starting at 8 a.m. There is also a kids area sponsored by the Batesville Junior Auxiliary, arts and crafts, and food.

Members of the Delta Street Rods oversee the automobile show, and Batesville Main Street works with the car enthusiasts to host the event downtown.  

“Show-Off on the Square” began in 2009 when more than 200 entries filled both sides of the Square and overflowed into the courthouse parking lot.

“Show-Off” is timed to catch vintage automobile collectors as they head south for the annual “Cruisin’ the Coast,” which begins October 7, said Lauralee Gann, a member of the Main Street Board.

The fall event also fills a niche left by the absence of the now-defunct Batesville Art Mart, said Gann.
Martin said the car show is divided into 35 classes that will hand out 110 trophies for first, second and third place.

Mississippi Delta Street Rods will also give away $2,000 in cash and lots of door prizes to competitors, he said.

The registration fee is $20 for each entry, and the money raised goes to the Baptist Children’s Village, a longtime beneficiary of the Mississippi Delta Street Rods.

The Baptist Children’s Village operates seven campuses across Mississippi to house abused children, helping about 200 a year. The closest campus to Batesville is Reedy Acres in Water Valley.

Martin said ongoing fund-raising by Street Rods pays for Christmas gifts for children at the Children’s Village.

“I remember a few years ago there was a 17-year-old who had never gotten a present from under a Christmas tree,” Martin said. “Our kids take so much for granted.”

Gann said she’s helping with “Show-Off” through her work with Batesville Main Street. When she learned the contest fees go to the Children’s Village, she was even more willing to help.

“My grandmother was adopted from the Children’s Village in the 1930s,” she said.