Drag the Gut 2013 was a Hot Time in the City

Just like the good ole days, Mac's "Gut" was roaring with action all weekend. [SLIDESHOW BELOW]

(MCMINNVILLE, OR) - The old Mack Theatre sign and marquee were lit up once again and the sights and sounds of slow moving cars came alive on Third Street as the Dragging the Gut Festival took over the town of McMinnville for the fourth year in a row.

Hundreds of cars took to the streets and thousands of onlookers lined the sidewalks to watch the show, and what an incredible parade of eye candy on wheels it was. The sounds of laughter, whoops and hollers, wolf whistles and cat calls were all part of the atmosphere that is Dragging the Gut.

Anyone can Drag the Gut. There was no registration; cruisers just had to get in line. A cruise map was distributed in the program, and normal laws were in force.

Participants were asked to share the Gut by not cutting in from side streets, and to refrain from burnouts and other extravagant ways they might show off on Third Street, like driving on the wrong side of the street and that type of delinquent behavior. They seemed to be okay with that. By the looks of it, the drivers enjoyed the event most of all.

Organization is key when dealing with this number of cars and people, and Ruben Contreras, founder of the event, had it well in hand, though the enormity had to be overwhelming in itself. Drivers were encouraged to cruise at their leisure before 8 p.m., but after that, for each two hours 8-10 and 10-midnight time periods, they were asked to drive three times and rest their cars, giving more cars a chance to make it down the Gut.

All ages enjoyed ten live bands and acts that performed on the A & E Security stage at the U.S. Bank Plaza. The entertainment included Stacie Marie, Dukes of Juke, Tara Velarde & Kawika Boro, Myron Leroy & the Faithful Few, Amanda Christine, Thunder Road, The Retrofits with Jon Sherwood, Vintage Knights, KaiLee Ashtyn, and Southpaw Speedway.

A special treat was a guest appearance with Southpaw Speedway by Jerry Naylor, rockabilly legend. Jerry Naylor is the former lead singer of the Crickets; he took Buddy Holly's place in the Crickets after the tragic plane crash on February 3, 1959. The crash became known as “The Day the Music Died”. His CD was available, as was his autograph.

The Ezra Koch Car Show started at noon on Saturday at the end of the Gut, on Third Street at the Saint James Catholic Church. Trophies and awards were presented at 4 p.m., just in time for those stunning vehicles to lead off the Dragging of the Gut at 5 p.m. behind Grand Marshall Will Vinton.

Will Vinton was the Grand Marshall for the 2013 Dragging the Gut Festival. Vinton is Mac High alumni, class of 1966. He has won two Emmy Awards, and an Academy Award for his film “Closed Mondays”, using Claymation. Will Vinton is probably best known for launching the California Raisin commercial.

David Koch, son of Ezra Koch, drove the Grand Marshall in Dean Klaus’ late 60’s red Cadillac convertible. David and Will were in the same class, and the same band, “back in the day”.

Finding people from your home town at such a crowded event is a challenge. “It seems that with Drag the Gut getting larger, it's getting kinda hard to find people from your school or town,” said Ruben Contreras.

“So this year we suggested blocks for people to meet up. You can meet-up anywhere, but perhaps having some set meet-up locations will help people find old friends.” I was able to locate a few of my friends from Dayton High, so I guess this plan worked out, at least for some of us.

Another component of the Gut Fest is the Food Drive. The McMinnville High Grizzly Dance Team was enthusiastically accepting the donations all afternoon and into the night.

All donations go to the local YCAP food bank, and it was just announced that Drag the Gut is officially the largest YCAP Food Drive in the county this year. Bigger even than the Postal workers food drive, which is always impressive.

Combined food donated and money given/committed can be stated as equaling 12,266 pounds for the Dragging the Gut Festival, which equals about 9,435 meals from this ONE food drive.

When all was said and done, Golden Valley Brewery had an after party that started at 10 pm. There was no cover charge, and it was a nice way to wind down the day listening to live music with a jam band.

Dragging the Gut Began in McMinnville

Dragging the Gut in McMinnville, Oregon has been around since before most of our great-grandparents were born. True, the first cruiser was in 1903. It is well documented that a young man named Ralph Wortman owned the county’s first car, as he took to driving up and down the unpaved road, now Third Street, multiple times “for no good reason”.

At the next McMinnville City Council meeting, a member complained that the cruisers scared his horse. As a result, the city council passed the first law concerning automobiles in the state of Oregon.

Generations of boys and girls grew into teens and young adults and took their turn behind the wheel and spent many a weekend night driving one route or another, through McMinnville, and showing their stuff. Pride in their cars, their clothes, their friends and their town brought them back, week after week.

With progress and growth came change. In 1975, KATU covered a story in McMinnville about a new construction development, the Payless Mall, and the reporter’s last line was, "If they are going to film another American Graffiti here they better hurry." Even then, evolution of older traditions was appearing inevitable.

Dragging the Gut was something we all simply counted on as young people, growing up in the area. There was always something to do on Friday & Saturday nights. No matter how your night started, it nearly always ended with a couple of runs down the Gut. It is how you kept up on who was doing what, and of course, what they were driving.

The McMinnville City Council voted to kill the Gut in 1988, and made it permanent the next year (read the ordinance). Many cities and towns followed suit, and cruising fell out of fashion, as it fell from grace with the authorities.

The Gut lived on as long as it could. As all of us know, old cruisers never die, they just park and wait their turn. That’s what’s happened in McMinnville Oregon. Twenty-one years later, they started their engines.

The Gut Makes a Come Back

This renewal of the Gut began in January of 2010. I joined the “I Dragged the Gut in McMinnville” Facebook page started by Ruben Contreras when there were a mere hundred or so followers, and was intrigued. Dragging the Gut had been a great time in my young life, and I was glad to see it being given some well-earned attention.

Here was a common denominator for hundreds, nay- thousands of people with the same memories and traditions. I immediately reached out to my Dayton network, and they told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on. I was one of many. It caught on like wildfire.

Ruben Contreras and I had crossed paths in former lives, and had plenty to catch up on. When the page really took off, Ruben was surprised, “I started it Sunday night on a lark and geez look at it it's like 472 people last time I checked!”

The Facebook page immediately served as a “water cooler”, where people met to swap scores of stories and memories that go on and on. Many hilarious moments have shown up on the pages as well, “I think my favorite one so far is the woman who was 13 and drove the drunk guy’s cars,” Ruben said in 2010. All’s well that ends well, right?

Then he pondered, “I wonder what the community would do if all these cruisers showed up. Honestly they'd probably love it since everyone would be stopping and eating and buying.”

Exactly. Ruben and I met over coffee to brainstorm ideas. “I really wonder if all the excitement is going to cool off on this group in a week or two or if it’s going to keep growing,” Ruben shared. “I figure it has to keep growing for a while since the Gut involved everyone in the country for 30 years.”

“I think the excitement will continue as long as its fresh in people's minds and they keep sharing it with others,” I told him. Growing up with the Gut as a fact of life made its absence very obvious to some of us.

“I was shocked and dismayed that it was closed, which I didn't learn for a couple of years after it happened. I always yearn for a cruise down Third Street when it's summer and I'm in a cool car, looking for somewhere to go,” I said.

Memories of many good times, cruising, seem not so far away. The instant response from hundreds of like-minded cruisers of the McMinnville Gut was a small indication of what was in store.

“I do think you've started a revolution,” I said to Ruben as the followers continued to multiply.

“I have had a couple of people write to me and ask for a date to meet to drag the gut. You are eventually going to have to set a date. We are the heart & soul of what made McMinnville cool, they should appreciate us.“

Ruben recently brought up the humble beginnings of this festival, which at first was just a rumbling, and it gained momentum, and got louder and louder.

“Look at this exchange from deep inside the Facebook page! Looks like where the idea of recreating it was,” Ruben Contreras wrote.

Ruben had posted a photograph in 2010 of the city ordinance sign saying it's illegal to Drag the Gut, and the comments made founded the notion to bring the masses back to the Gut.

“Bonnie that is a cool thread. You can see the idea bubbling up lol. You rebel!!” Ruben exclaimed.

How many cars can be towed simultaneously? So far… there’s 420 members of this group... could be challenging for Mac authorities! (Bonnie King)

“As for that thread,” I laughed, “It's just like me to start a riot! LOL Well clearly it was something everyone was hungry for, I'm so glad you took the big idea and made it a reality.”

“Congratulations on 700!” I told Ruben, “I was joking about 1,000 cars showing up one night, but I'm starting to think it's possible!”

Soon after, Ruben met with the McMenamin’s marketing team and they agreed to host the event; less than ten months later, the Dragging the Gut Festival was a reality.

The first year, it was a one day event and the Gut closed at 10. The people wanted more. The last few years, we have dragged the Gut until midnight... just like the old days.

Ruben Contreras has led this great endeavor to success, now already working on the fifth Festival (2014). The Dragging the Gut Festival has become a mainstay event for the McMinnville, Oregon area, and is expected to do nothing but grow year over year.

More people and cars came out this year than ever before, estimated to be as much as twice the participation of last year.

“I don't think we are anywhere near the ceiling on the growth,” Ruben said after the 2013 event. “In fact I think the huge crowds will make it jump even more, so imagine twice the crowd next time? Hard to think that won't happen. Wow.”

It is a lot to consider, but it is happening right before our eyes. The Gut is Back!

“There didn't seem to be big problems with the police,” Ruben commented, “and the Gut didn't die off like it did last year, it was still going strong right up till it ended.”

The joy this event brought to the people attending is without question. Events like Dragging the Gut are becoming more popular in cities and towns across the Nation, bringing back the simple pleasures of being with friends and enjoying your home town.

Ralph Wortman's old car* can still be seen on the Gut. Through the years, into the 1960’s, it appeared in local parades, and today the original gas-steamer car sits on permanent display in the Key Bank window at 3rd & Davis, overseeing the youngsters as they revive the spirit from whence we came.

The Fifth Annual Drag the Gut Festival is scheduled for August 22 & 23, 2014. Be there, or be SQUARE.

*Documentation: "A Horseless Carriage Come to Town" by Ralph Wortman, 1966.
(View five hours of Dragging the Gut (2013) on http://www.GutFest.com/)

Bonnie King has been Publisher of Salem-News.com since August '04. She is a photographer and video producer, writer, editor and mother, which she considers her greatest position. Bonnie has served in a number of positions in the broadcast industry; TV Production Manager at KVWB (Las Vegas WB) and Producer/Director for the TV series "Hot Wheels in Las Vegas", posts as TV Promotion Director for KYMA (NBC), and KFBT (Ind.), Asst. Marketing Director (SUPERSHOPPER MAGAZINE), Director/Co-Host (Coast Entertainment Show), Radio Promotion Director (KBCH/KCRF), and Newspapers In Education/Circulation Sales Manager (STATESMAN JOURNAL NEWSPAPER).

Bonnie has a depth of understanding that reaches further than just behind the scenes, and that thoroughness is demonstrated in the perseverance to correctly present each story with the wit and wisdom necessary to compel and captivate viewers and readers alike. An lifetime activist for just causes, she continues to strive to present facts that support Truth, Justice and Peace, as we are in the world to change the world for the better. "TJP"