The Draggins’ 49th annual Rod and Custom Car Show will be held Friday, April 10th and Saturday, April 11th at Prairieland Park.  Doors will open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m. each day.

The car show is a judged competitive event where exhibitors compete in various classes of hot rods, customs, antiques and special interest vehicles in categories such as best paint, best engine compartment, best interior and best engineered.  With the support of many community minded businesses and organizations, there is over $10,000 in trophies and cash awards to be won.  The show promises to be a highly competitive event offering participants the opportunity to compete with their peers, visitors to enjoy a unique form of family entertainment, and all in the interest of raising money for Camp Easter Seal.

A number of outstanding hot rods have entered the Car Show including;
- an outstanding ’32 Ford Dearborn Deuce from Sherwood Park, Alberta.
- a ’23 Model T Roadster pick up with a fully chromed 427 big block Chevrolet V8.
- a ’37 Chevrolet Coupe that’s been transformed into a utility pick up.
- an outrageous ’37 Chevy ‘rat rod’ chopped, channeled, sectioned and slammed pick up.

The popularity of custom trucks continues to grow with a number of interesting examples including;
- a custom ’49 Ford pick up and a custom ’57 Chevrolet pick up.
- a ’94 Chevrolet K1500 built with a 3” lift kit.
- a ’70 Ford Ranchero with a 514” stroker engine
- an extensively modified ’87 Peterbilt 359 Highway tractor with custom paint that transitions from green to flames.

Custom cars will also be represented and two of particular interest are;
- a ’50 Mercury 2 door chopped, shaved, shortened, molded, rounded, channeled custom with four corner air-ride suspension.
- a ’50 Pontiac Chieftain chopped, channeled, frenched and sectioned custom

Many special interest vehicles will also be on display.  A few noteworthy examples are;
- a ’66 AMC Marlin, a ’74 Lamborghini Countach kit car and a 2006 Ford GT.

One local collector is displaying six outstanding cars from his collection;
- a beautifully rebuilt and finished ’69 Dodge Dart with a Hemi engine; an incredible custom ’70 Hemi Cuda; and a new 2008 Hemi Challenger, one of 500 manufactured.
- a 2007 Shelby Mustang, one of 7500 produced; a 2007 Mustang King of the Road, one of 122 made for Canada; and a 725 hp 2008 Mustang Super Snake production #448.

To confirm that hot rodding really can be a family affair, one family is displaying four of their cars;
- a ’65 Chevrolet Nova SS, a ’78 GMC Caballero, a ’47 Ford Cab over with a pull out sleeper, and a ’23 Ford C cab truck

Two high schools will be displaying their shop projects at the show.  Mount Royal will have their ’68 Ford Mustang and City Park will have their chopper motorcycle.

The extremely popular “Battle of the Automotive Technicians” returns featuring teams of two competing to assemble a V8 engine in the fastest time.  A number of teams will have women joining them as they compete for their share of over $6,000 in trophies, cash and major merchandise prizes provided by our many sponsors.

The Car Show attracts many multiple car displays from groups and car clubs such as; the Saskatoon Mopar Club with ten entries, the Saskatoon Mustang Ford Club, the 5-6-7 Chevrolet Club, the Saskatoon Antique Auto Club, the Dusty Wheels Auto Club, the Saskatchewan Drag Racing Association, the Valley Cruisers and the Volkswagen group.

Other active displays include;
-a rollover simulator demonstration sponsored by SGI and the RCMP illustrating how seat belts save lives in rollovers by using ‘crash test’ dummies.
- air bag demonstrations sponsored by SGI illustrating how the air bag is deployed in a collision and showing why it is dangerous to transport children in the front seat of an air bag equipped vehicle.
- an impairment simulation exercise where car show visitors can experience how their driving skills are impacted while under simulated impairment of various degrees.

Car show activities continue in the parking lot ( weather permitting ) with the Cool Car Corral where visitors to the show can leave their ‘cool cars’ for others to look at during their visit to the show.  Special security arrangements have been made in a designated area to ensure these cars will be secure during a visit to the show.

For the youngsters, the Mattel Corporation will be providing “Hot Wheels” model toy cars compliments of Wal-Mart to the first 2,000 children accompanied by an adult attending the car show each day.  Youngsters of all ages may wish to race their die cast model cars on a die cast model race track.

Admission to the Car Show is $10.00 for adults 16 years of age to 64 years of age and $5.00 for children 6 to 15 years of age and for Seniors.  Pre schoolers accompanied by an adult and visitors in wheel chairs are free of charge.