Hot cars and barbecue coming to Canal Street

The Canal Street Cruise-In car show will return to downtown Bolivar on Saturday, July 24 from 4-7 p.m. The event, which was canceled last year, took place at Fort Laurens in 2019 during Bolivar’s Downtown Renaissance project.

Antique and custom cars and bikes will line the streets of downtown while Spikeman DJ plays hit music from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Tom Spiker, aka Spikeman, is the number-one-booked car show disc jockey in Ohio, according to Cruisin Times magazine.

This is Spikeman’s 33rd year of providing music at car shows and cruise-ins. “I love old cars and old music,” Spiker said. “And I get paid to be around both, so it’s perfect.”

Sponsored by the Bolivar Main Street Association, the show accepts all makes and models of cars, trucks and motorcycles. Registration will take place from 3-5 p.m. and is $8 per entry in advance or $10 the day of the show. Those wishing to preregister should call Bob Smith at 330-204-0949. Spectators are admitted free.

Lions Club chicken
barbecue

During the car show, the Bolivar Lion’s Club will hold its annual chicken barbecue at the corner of Canal and Water streets. Dinner includes a half chicken, ear of corn, roll and beverage. Presale tickets are $10 and can be purchase by calling Brad Wharmby, the club’s treasurer and chairman of the event, at 330-575-7325. Dinner is $12 the day of the event.

The barbecue is a fundraiser for the club, which supports local charities in addition to the International Lions Club charities. “Last year we purchased a $6,000 piece of equipment to screen incoming kindergarteners at Tusky Valley for vision problems,” said Wharmby, who has been a member of the club since 2003.

“We also support children in school who need eye care but whose families can’t afford glasses,” Wharmby said. “The school nurse refers them to us, and we work with area vision care professionals to help them purchase the glasses.”

The club also collects used eyeglasses and forwards them to organizations in other countries, where they are refashioned for people in need. Used glasses can be dropped off at the Town and Country Veterinarian Clinic in Wilkshire Hills.

“We also give a scholarship every spring to a Tusky Valley senior,” Wharmby said. In addition, the club is known for its Community Halloween Party at Bolivar Intermediate School every year after Trick or Treat.