Iron River Father’s Day car show draws biggest crowd yet
Genesee Street was packed with chrome, families and vendors as Iron River’s 48th Father’s Day car show grew into its biggest gathering yet.
Genesee Street filled with muscle cars, sports cars and families as Iron River’s Father’s Day car show marked its 48th year and drew what organizers described as its biggest crowd yet. The weekend stretched from a Saturday cruise through four Iron County towns to a Sunday downtown show that turned the heart of Iron River into a steady stream of engines, music and foot traffic.
The celebration started June 20 with a new Iron County Cruise format replacing the usual route. Vehicles lined up at Runkle Lake Park in Crystal Falls at 4 p.m. and rolled out at 4:30 p.m., traveling through Crystal Falls, Alpha, Gaastra and Caspian before ending on Genesee Street in Iron River. Along the route, children received Hot Wheels cars, Father Daniel from St. Agnes Catholic Church blessed the vehicles, Jessica Holroyd sang the National Anthem and Adam Stender, known as “Voice of the North,” played 1950s and 1960s music. A best 1950s-60s costume contest added to the Saturday scene.
By Sunday, the show had settled into its familiar downtown rhythm. The car and tractor show ran from noon to 3 p.m. on Genesee Street, with registration opening at 10 a.m. for $10 entry on cars, tractors, trucks or motorcycles. Balloons for children, a 50/50 raffle and Buttons the Clown helped make the block feel less like a display lot than a full community gathering.
The variety of vehicles gave spectators plenty to linger over. Vintage muscle cars sat beside sleek sports cars, while owners traded stories and compared notes along the curb. Vendors selling toys and food kept families moving up and down the street, and nearby merchants had the chance to catch the spillover from the crowd that packed downtown Iron River.
The Classic Farm Machinery Club of Iron County hosted the event and said the show is nonprofit, with proceeds supporting scholarships for Iron County High School seniors. The Iron County MI Lodging Council has described the Father’s Day weekend tradition as one of Iron County’s long-running summer events, drawing vehicle enthusiasts, local families and visitors from the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin. Admission was free for spectators, and the weekend’s mix of live music, food, dancing and costume contests gave the show the feel of a homecoming as much as a car event.
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