Al Mashburn has a vision of bringing a family-friendly event that will not only draw locals, but tourists to the River City to enjoy a weekend of fun activities aimed at car enthusiasts.

The “Cruisin for Paws Rod Run” scheduled for March 7-9 will bring pre-’49 street rods to Vicksburg with proceeds to benefit Paws Rescue League, the non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing abandoned and stray cats and dogs in the Vicksburg community.

Local classic car clubs, the Vicksburg Cruisers and 1 Rule Rods, are involved in helping with the event, which Mashburn expects will contribute to the local economy.

“This event will attract street rods from all across the USA,” Mashburn said. “While they are in town, they will be staying in hotels, eating at restaurants, buying gas.”

Mashburn wants the event to promote and spotlight small businesses in Vicksburg.

“The idea is to get the cars out into the city of Vicksburg while they are here, so a scavenger hunt will take place during this time,” Mashburn said.

The scavenger hunt will require registered street rod participants to visit some of the sponsors of the event to make purchases.

“The scavenger hunt will involve registered participants going around to small businesses in Vicksburg, and as they make purchases, they bring their receipts back to the event to be counted so that they can be eligible for a chance to win the grand prize,” Mashburn said. “This way when a small business becomes a sponsor, they will be paid back by having customers come into their businesses and making purchases.

“I have been to some car shows where you just drive through the sponsor’s parking lot and get a ticket stamped to prove you went there but you never entered the sponsor’s building. I want this event to pay the sponsor back by generating some dollars for them also.”

Currently, the venue for the event includes the area around the Hampton Inn & Suites.

“Right now, I can fit about 100 cars and maybe a few more,” Mashburn said, “but not knowing how many will show up at the event, I want to be ready for anything.”

So far, Mashburn has street rods from North Carolina, Texas and Florida pre-registered for the event.

“We are expecting more cars from Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi and other states,” Mashburn said. “It’s a guessing game to answer how many to expect. If you plan on 100 cars, you may have 50. But then again you may have 300 or more.”

The list of sponsors include the City of Vicksburg, Vicksburg Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, Desktop Support Services, Vicksburg Cruisers, Outside the Box Business Center, The Cinnamon Tree, PetSense, Automotive Paint Center, Neill Gas, Waring Oil Company and Rocket Taxicab. Mashburn said sponsorships are available up to Feb. 27.

Mashburn said food trucks, churches and charitable organizations that would like to sell food items are welcome, but they must be self-contained and no alcoholic beverages will be sold.

For more information on “Cruisin for Paws Rod Run,” visit their Facebook page or call Mashburn at 601-831-2008.