WAUPUN — The 33rd Annual Waupun Truck’n Show will be coming to Waupun on the 12th and 13th of August. Originally marketed at the “Waupun Truckers Jamboree,” The Waupun Truck’n Show is one of the largest truck shows in the United States. Hundreds of trucks participate in the Waupun Truck’n Show every year, including semi-trailers and pickups. Truckers come from all over North America, including from Canada and as far away as New Mexico.
The Truck’n Show has two parades, one on Friday night at 9pm and the other on Saturday afternoon at 3pm. The night parade is one of the largest light shows in the US, and a panel of judges decide which contestant has the best truck display. This year’s Parade Marshal is Josh Lemke, owner of Lemke Line Haul.
The entire event has free admittance, including live music. On Friday, the band “Star Six-Nine” will play from 8pm to midnight at the Beer Tent and “The Presidents” will play on Saturday from 8pm to midnight in the Community Center. Seminars will also be hosted at the Community Center about trucker’s safety and Department of Transportation compliance by John Seidl, owner of Trucking Wins.
For concessions, there will be a Friday fish fry from 4pm to 8pm hosted by Fox Lake Snowmobile Club and Leroy Meats and a Saturday pancake breakfast from 7am to 11am by the Waupun Lions Club at Rock River Intermediate School.
There will be three truck themed auctions this year. Reach Waupun and Make-a-Wish will host programs for 7pm Friday night and Saturday at noon, respectively. A mini truck auction will also be held in honor of the late Ron Vande Zande, one of the founders of the Truck’n Show. Vande Zande’s truck collection includes commemorative trucks from previous years which will be displayed in the Community Center before the auction. Proceeds will go to the Waupun Fire Department.
“It wouldn’t be possible without all of our volunteers and the sponsors we get for the show every year,” said Nancy Kutschenreuter, one of the Truck’n Show Committee organizers. “It’s almost like a family reunion, you see the same people coming for the last thirty years. There’s a lot of truck shows out there but Waupun has a lot of emotion because it’s all about the kids.”
The Waupun Truck’n Show Committee is a nonprofit 501-C(7) organization run by volunteers, which helps fundraise for locally active foundations such as REACH Relief and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
“There’s no one that ever comes through that says they didn’t have a good time,” Kutschebnreuter said. “A big ‘thank you’ to everyone in Waupun for allowing us to have this truck show.”
