The Weekly Reekie: The Rock Falls Block Party Will Be Sick
Rock Falls Block Party, remember the name. It was only announced last week but I can already sense that this event within an event will become a Sick Summer tradition that’ll run long into the future. Why? Because we’ve been workshopping this idea for years and it’s too good to fail.
In case you haven’t heard, the town of Rock Falls, Illinois will roll out the red carpet for Sick Summer in the later afternoon and evening of June 10. Our cavalcade of cars will make a checkpoint stop there after racing on day one, where the plan is to park ’em up for a street party with live music, food trucks and good vibes. There’s also talk of setting up a legal burnout zone to be overseen by the local police and fire departments. That would really send this thing over the top.
I learned a new word the other day, “mutualism”. It’s biology mumbo jumbo for a type of symbiotic relationship where all species involved benefit from their interactions. Here is a textbook case. Our racing community is supporting a town that is supporting our racing community. Their economy will get a boost while our entrants will get to showcase their cars and the sport, and we’ll all get to party. Mutualism rocks! Thank God for science!
The Rock Falls Block Party is the result of a chance encounter during Sick Summer last year. I know this because I was there. As always, I was rolling with my expat Aussie brother, Sick editor Luke Nieuwhof. We were roughly halfway between Cordova and Byron when we stopped outside a family home to take photos of a hand-drawn sign that welcomed the Sick racers. As it turned out, the sign had been made by the son of a lady named Melinda Jones, who, as it turned out, was a big booster for the nearby town of Rock Falls.
We spoke with Melinda on her front lawn. She told us of her dream to make Rock Falls a happening place. We told her of our dream to create drag-and-drive checkpoints in towns that would not only welcome several hundred killer street cars, but celebrate them. She handed Luke her business card. It might as well have said “Melinda Jones: Magician” because she’s since conjured up the block party of our dreams. Some day they’ll build monuments to Melinda Jones in Rock Falls.
Luke has been talking about a checkpoint like this for as long as Sick has been hosting events. “Maybe we could find some towns that would enjoy having a bunch of cool cars come through?” “We could have a little show on the main drag.” “Maybe add some live bands, make it a scene, etc.”
Along the way we’ve seen some things that have helped further this idea. One pivotal moment I recall was during Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 in 2022 (RMRW are no strangers to block parties themselves with their Great Bend, KS version). We visited Bristow, Oklahoma, where the men of the local fire department had set up a little burnout strip outside their station. Shoutout to Joseph Fisher and the boys! They had made a cardboard sign that said “Burnouts Welcome” and they were hosing down the street to help Race Week entrants turn the tires. After a while, the fire chief came out and told them to cool it – the men could watch the burnouts but they weren’t to encourage them.
The Bristow firefighters told us that if they’d been forewarned, it’s possible they could have gotten permission to close off the street and host the burnouts in a more controlled way. A lightbulb went off right there.
“Maybe we could seek approval for a designated burnout zone?” “We could ask the local fire department to oversee it.” “Maybe make it burnout by donation, with the proceeds going to a local charity or school.” “Oh, wouldn’t that be so lovely?”
A couple of weeks later, we were at Hot Rod Drag Week 2022, where this idea of first seeking approval was rammed home even harder. We were in the village of Elizabeth, Illinois when a wild burnout party started up along the main street. Townsfolk were coming out of the local bar, the Small Town Saloon, and throwing down water to fuel the fun. A crowd gathered to clap and cheer as the sound of roaring engines and spinning wheels echoed through a corridor of historic buildings.
Now, I like to flirt with danger as much as the next lunatic, but this scene was kinda sketchy. There wasn’t a whole lot of room for error. The main street of Elizabeth, which is literally called Main Street, is not very wide, and there was oncoming traffic in the left lane. Throw in the fact that tire smoke was affecting visibility, and it wasn’t a huge surprise when the sheriff arrived to shut the festivities down.
The goings on in Elizabeth that day showed that people in small towns love to see this kind of thing, but it can’t just be a free-for-all on public roads because then sheriffs are inclined to get sore. That’s why it’s exciting to hear that Rock Falls is trying to create a designated burnout zone for this inaugural block party. If they can manage to pull it off, it’ll be the checkpoint to end all checkpoints.
So far the closest we’ve gotten to this type of party checkpoint was during Sick Summer last year at Motion Raceworks in DeWitt, Iowa. On day four there was a survivor show ’n’ shine held in their parking lot with free food and drinks, live music and market stalls. If the Rock Falls Block Party can manage to capture a similar energy and then add burnouts on top, it’ll be the place to be this summer and for many a summer to come.
Stay Sick, let’s rock the block!
Written by Matt Reekie
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