Perryville residents will get a chance to see some of the tri-state region’s prettiest, fanciest and best-lit big rigs when the fourth annual “Laid Back on I-55 Truck Show” takes place Aug. 20-21.
Event organizer Robynne Duvall is looking for more trucks to participate this year.
“Last year we had 91 trucks and we have been getting more calls about the event,” she said. “We attributed last year’s number to COVID and that a number of other shows had been cancelled. I think after they saw the hospitality of our small town a lot of them will return.”
The first year of the event, the show garnered 48 trucks and then went up to more than 70.
“We’ve almost doubled the amount of trucks in three years,” Duvall said. “I love that it grows every year. Anything that we can do to help the small businesses grow is good for Perryville.”
As usual, proceeds from this year’s event, co-sponsored by the Downtown Revitalization Committee, will benefit the Down Syndrome Association and will kick off Friday, Aug. 20 with the Big Rig Light Show at dusk., just a bit after Sons of Bocephus, a Hank Williams Jr. tribute band, takes the main stage at the Downtown Pavilion to provide live music from 8-11 p.m.
“We are really excited about the band this year,” Duvall said. “We have heard great things about them.”
Trucks are expected to begin arriving at 1 p.m. Friday, when registration opens and the city begins blocking off the square.
Saturday’s event include a kiddie tractor pull beginning at 11 a.m. and a DJ will provide music during the day. The awards ceremony is scheduled after the live auction that begins at 3 p.m., followed by a convoy that will parade out of town down North Main Street, through the roundabout to Highway. 51, then down Route AC past Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial to U.S. 61 before making its way back to 51 and out of town.
The convoy will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. and will be led by the winners of an auction that will be held Friday night.
“The convoy is always a sight,” Duvall said. “You get that many big trucks in one line all that the same time, it certainly has its following with people coming out to watch them go by.”
Duvall is always excited for the truck show. She said its one of her favorite events of the year.
“To see some of the same people came back every year is great, along with new ones,” she said. “The trucker community is such a tight knit group. If you come to the event, you will surely make a friend or two.”
