Sprinkles don't dampen spirit of Jayhawk Blast

Ed Peery rolls out of the Jayhawk Blast car show as rain begins to threaten on Saturday, Sept. 12. Tucked away in the seat was a trophy for Best Hot Rod for his T-bucket Ford. (Photos by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)

By Roger Sims, Journal staff

linncountyjournal@icloud.com

With clouds rolling across Linn County, the Jayhawk Blast on Saturday, Sept. 12, looked like it could be in peril of a washout. And while a couple entrants in the car show and the owners of the petting zoo pulled up stakes early when light sprinkles fell over the Mound City area, most of the attendees didn’t leave, continuing to enjoy the live music and food trucks.

Some changes in the setup of the event helped the attendance. Although the area west of the splash park looked more empty after the hot rods, classic cars and trucks left after the car show, having the show vehicles near the hub of the event instead of the ball field parking lot increased interest in the car show entries. Twenty-six vehicles were entered this year.

Erika Gilbert, lead singer for Two Lane Highway, belts out a cover of Black Velvet at the Blast.

Two Lane Highway and Trevor Holman and the Haymakers set up their sets under the new shelter next to the splash park and kept playing throughout the evening whether it was precipitating or staying dry, and several of the vendors reported good sales early in the evening.

As always, the inflatables were a hit with the kids, and organizers even provided a smaller inflatable slide for the younger children.

Above, Kendra McCarty applies face paint to a young customer who plunked down a week's allowance to help fund the Jayhawk-Linn High School after prom. Below, Eli Holt was also a contributor to the cause.

Haymaker front man Trevor Holman, left, and guitarist Greg Branson lean into a song in their first set of the night.

A small-size inflatable slide was a hit with the very young.

This basketball inflatable consistently drew players in to try their hand at the a gamer.

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Clockwise from top left, Chad Brownback and his 1966 Corvette won best of show, Timothy Chad and Jessica Smith of Uniontown check out the comfortable seat cushion in a 1914 Model T Ford owned by Dave Ryan, a cream-color 1950 Chevy owned by David Nicholson won the best truck trophy, Jerry Whitley brought his 1937 Chevy coupe with an after-market Pontiac Rocket engine, Jesse Spears with his best car trophy, and Sam Barber and his granddaughter Oakley with his 1977 GMC Sprint.