Wright City leaders have given the go-ahead to an annual car show hosted at Diekroeger Park.

The Fat Heads Car Show, which raises money each year for local charitable causes, will be hosted July 25 starting at 10 a.m.

To get the event going this year, Fat Heads Car Club founder Frank Ellis first had to make sure the Wright City park would be available for public gatherings. He approached the Wright City Board of Aldermen May 28 to ask if Diekroeger could be used for the car show.

“We basically want a recommendation from the city if you think we should proceed in preparation for the car show,” Ellis told the aldermen.

In response to whether the show can be postponed until later this year when more is known about the state of COVID-19, Ellis and another Fat Heads representative said the car show can’t be rescheduled because it would conflict with other shows in the area. It’s either the July date, or wait until next year.

“It’s a hard question to answer. The biggest problem associated with the size of (the car show) is it draws a large crowd, and it would be hard to social distance,” said Mayor Dan Rowden.

“I don’t want us to have a ‘Lake of the Ozarks’ event,” Rowden added, referring to photos showing pools crowded with visitors at the resort area in May.

But, aldermen said, no one really knows what the situation will be in July.

“We can go through with it, but if something flares up and the state makes another recommendation, then we have to go by the state,” commented Ward 2 Alderman Nathan Rohr. He said local organizations shouldn’t have to cancel their events indefinitely while waiting for the state to release new information.

“I just say go with it, and then if the state says we have to change it up, then we change it,” added Rohr.

The other aldermen agreed, expressing their support for the show as long as new state mandates aren’t released that prevent it.

“I think the people that would attend this would understand if you had to change things. But you can’t have an event if you don’t advertise the event (ahead of time),” commented Ward 1 Alderman John O’Connor.

Aldermen voted 4-0 to allow Fat Heads to proceed with plans for the car show in Diekroeger Park.

Ellis said this year’s car show will raise money for school supplies for Wright City students. Supplies will be purchased by the club and donated directly to the schools, he said.

And, he said, car enthusiasts are just ready to be active.

“It’ll be good for a whole lot of people if we can do (the show),” Ellis commented.