Bel Air Town Derby Returns This Summer With 20 Cars Racing 2 Heats

BEL AIR, MD — The 2nd annual Bel Air Town Derby will be June 23 on Main Street in Bel Air. Hosted by the Bel Air Lions, the event will be in conjunction with Bel Air's ongoing 150th anniversary celebrations.

"The races were held in the '60s for a few years and last October, we brought it back," Amy Biondi told Patch.

Twenty cars steered by kids ages six to 12 will be racing in a series of two heats down Main Street from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The race will start at Office Street and end at Lee Street.

The derby is free to the public. A test run will happen Saturday, June 1, along Lee Way between Hickory Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue from 9 a.m. until noon.

Biondi explained that it takes around four hours to construct the fiber glass derby cars, which are assembled from a soap box car kit.

"The day of the event, people can watch the race and follow the brackets live on their phone. There'll be a vintage car show, the We Rock On Wheels bus, Steam Quest activities, Kona Ice, taekwondo demonstrations, shopping at Main Street businesses and food," Biondi told Patch.