POTTER Neb. — The Potter Car Bowl is an annual event that combines a car show with duckpin bowling, live music, and a barbecue cooking contest.

This year was the eighth annual Potter Car Bowl and Event Coordinator Drew Enevoldsen said 159 cars were registered for the show.

“The boost in economics here is incredible,” Enevoldsen said. “The biggest thing is the comradery, bringing the community together, the volunteers together, it’s what makes Potter so great, you come into this town, and you feel the peace.”

Ed Revord oversees the barbecue cooking contest. He said there are 8 to 12 contestants who compete at barbecue contests all over Nebraska.

“The spectators have grown immensely,” Revord said. “This year we ordered 5,000 portion cups for the tasting and we ran out of those about three-quarters of the way through.”

Enevoldsen said the money raised will go to the American Hall Theatre in Potter and to Plains West Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA).

“Between the car show and the barbecue, they match each other,” Enevoldsen said. “It’s like this rivalry of who can bring in more money for the projects that we’re raising money for.”

The town of Potter is also home to a Duck Pin Bowling Alley. Duckpin bowling is a smaller variation of bowling with the highest score being 279.

This year 25 teams competed in a duckpin bowling tournament. Arlo Brittan and Chris Obershaw won the tournament with 127 points.

“This is my second championship," Brittan said. "I was second place last year, and this year we took first place."

Obershaw said this was his first time playing duckpin bowling. Obershaw and Brittan travel from Alliance, NE for the car show and bowling tournament.

“This is my third year that I’ve been here,” Britton said. “I heard about it three years ago and I’ve came every year after because it’s such a good event and you get to see all the townspeople working together and it just seems like it keeps getting better and better.”

Enevoldsen said next year the event will be even bigger.

“It’s the people and the heart that make Potter what it is,” Enevoldsen said.

The event also featured a craft fair, car-building activities for the youth, a beer and wine garden, a silent and live auction, food trucks, and three different bands.