MAGIC DRAGON STREET MEET NATIONALS
ONE GREAT, FUN CAR SHOW!

Following is an excerpt from www.magicdragonstreetmeet.com,  the website set up by the folks who run the event.  I hope they don’t mind if I use some of their material to discuss our love of their event!
Quote from the website:
Magic Dragon Street Meet Nationals Information and History:
The Magic Dragon Street Meet Nationals is a unique show for all makes, models, and years of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. The show celebrated its 21st year in 2009 and 2010 promises to be the best ever! At the 2009 show, we registered 854 vehicles and expect to break that record in 2010. Located in Central Missouri, we bring over 20 years of show experience to the historic Bagnell Dam Strip at the Lake of the Ozarks. The strip is closed to normal traffic during show hours, so we only have show vehicles. This creates and absolutely electric atmosphere! Some say it’s like being on the set of “American Graffiti”.

How did we get our name?
Some folks say that the lake, which is over 90 miles long, looks like a big dragon from the air as it winds through the central Missouri hills. Several years ago, it became known as “The Land of the Magic Dragon”. At our very first show in 1987, we used the name “Magic Dragon” and it has stayed with us to this very day.

While here at the show you can cruise the strip to the broadcast tunes of the 50’s and 60’s provided by our old friend, Leo Case, as well as visit with other car enthusiasts from all over the United States. If you would like to have your vehicle judged, we offer drive through judging, so you can go at your convenience. Of course, the Bagnell Dam Strip provides lots to do, with shopping, good places to eat, and lots of arcade games for the kids. After the show, the Lake of the Ozarks area is famous for great dining, shopping, golf, plenty of places to stay, and some of the most beautiful sunsets anywhere in the world. So come and see us the first weekend in May. You’ll be glad you did!
OK, end of the quote.  Now here is our experience with the show.  The first show we attended with a car was in 2008.  My youngest brother has a beautiful, 1967 Chevy II Nova that is, in appearance, restored to its original look.  It does have an upgraded drive train, although is by no means a hot rod.  The upgrades are all intended to make the car safer and more fun to drive on modern highways.  We heard about the big car show at the Bagnell Dam strip long before we started working on Our Place, but neither of us had ever been to the event.

We decided that 2008 was going to be the year we would both attend and enter his car.  What a fantastic time it was!  You don’t need to be a gear head to enjoy the classic beauty of the cars that show up for the Magic Dragon Street Meet. 

Some car shows become repetitious as you find yourself walking down row after row of Corvettes or T-Buckets.  This is not the case at the Magic Dragon.  At this car show there is a class for practically any car ever built, and then there are entries for practically every class.  Car owners can have their entries judged if they want, or just park out on the strip and visit with the folks who come out to look.  We went through the judging tent with the Nova, and were glad we did.  Not that we won anything, but we got to talk to some great guys there, and hear some fantastic stories. 

I cannot encourage you enough to visit their website.  We have never had a car owner make a reservation at Our Place, then take his or her entry (or entries!!) to the show, but we are very conveniently located for someone who would like to do so.  It only takes about 10 minutes to cross the toll bridge and get to the strip, and I’m of the opinion that everyone can have fun at the Magic Dragon Street Meet Nationals!