Several blocks of East Broadway will be closed Sunday while the annual Mid Missouri Soap Box Derby is underway.
The derby, sponsored by the Downtown Optimists Club, will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. However, Broadway will be closed from Eighth Street to Providence Road from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Starting at the intersection of Seventh Street and Broadway, more than 50 young contenders will race down the hill toward Providence Road in gravity-powered race cars, said Rick McKernan, Mid Missouri Soap Box Derby co-race director.
Winners of the three divisions will qualify to take part in the world championship week-long finals in July in Akron, Ohio.
Watching the event is free and open to the public.
“We start early, and we do run in the rain,” McKernan said. “So if it’s raining, don't think you can stay home.”
