Every year, the Labor Day Celebration in Hoisington begins at the end of August or the beginning of September, and Barton County gets excited for the weekend-long event. Hoisington's Labor Day Celebration began in 1896 with its first parade. Since it was established in 1957, the Hoisington Chamber of Commerce has hosted the celebration each summer. Chamber Director Karen Baldyga said go-cart races will be a new activity at this year's celebration on Saturday, Aug. 31.
"Jason Dody is one of our board directors, and he's the one who suggested it because he is involved with that with his kids, and also himself," Baldyga said. "He came up with the idea and we thought, 'Why not?'"
The new event will take place on Saturday afternoon at Bicentennial Park in the same location as the Demolition Derby. Parking, admission, and concessions will all be in the same locations as the derby. Dody, of Carquest, has been working hard with a group of volunteers to make the new activity a possibility.
Dody said the Go Cart Races will be part of the Hoosier Predator Series that brings racers from all over Kansas and the mid-west. Jason and his group of volunteers are having meetings and will come up with a name for this particular event, along with the logistics, rules, and policies over the next month or so. Baldyga said several other changes are in the works for this year's celebration.
"We're not really changing everything," said Baldyga. "We're maybe combining some things and we're putting things in different locations to make it easier. I'm going to try making those announcements every couple of weeks to let people know what's happening, where it's going to be, what's new, and what's changed."
Check out the Chamber’s Facebook pages and website for updates to other Labor Day Celebration events. 2024 will mark the 128th Hoisington Labor Day Celebration.