HEROES Mandan Event

Who: Dennis Nieskenes

What: Buggies and Blues Presented by BEK TV

Why: Dennis Nieskenes moved to Mandan in 1977, and as his family grew, so did his involvement in and love for the community. One day, Dennis heard about a car show that had happened the previous year in Bismarck and grew interested, especially after hearing that car shows were dying out. He had an idea: “I thought what would happen if we could combine all the car clubs into one event.” Inspired also by his son Chad’s newfound love of blues music, Dennis pitched his idea to bring together cars and music to the Bismarck Mandan Musicians Association. They loved the idea, and after Dennis also cleared it with the City of Mandan and the local car clubs, Buggies-n-Blues was born in 1993. The first year was small, but from there the event steadily grew into the event of national importance it has become. “You hope when you create something that it’s going to be successful,” says Dennis, “so it’s amazing to see all the changes and to hear people come back to Mandan for this event, even after moving away.”

If you’ve been to Buggies-n-Blues, chances are you have seen Dan Kraft’s iconic grabber green collection of Mustangs. “Green was my favorite color growing up, so when I started buying Mustangs… I bought a Grabber Green Mustang and found out it was a really rare color,” explains Dan. “It was only made one year unless you special ordered it from Shelby. You could get that color in ’69, so I started with one of them, then went to two and three and just started collecting Grabber Greens. It’s actually the rarest Grabber Green collection in the whole world.” In addition to collecting, Dan Kraft has been helping with the event ever since it started.

This year, Buggies-n-Blues is celebrating its 30th anniversary. In honor of that, Dennis has come back to help plan this year’s event and will be the parade marshal for the Independence Day Parade. While Dennis has accepted this honor, he wants it to be clear he’s representing everyone who stepped up to help put on this unique event over the past three decades. “It’s just my idea. It’s not about me,” Dennis says. “It’s taken a lot of people to make this a reality… My whole idea in this is, if even just for one split second of time you can make a difference, that’s what it’s all about.”

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Presented by Marathon Mandan Refinery

Feature Act At The 30th Annual Buggies And Blues Direct From Las Vegas

AMERICAN RESURFACING PRESENTS THE STEVE DARNELL FEATURE ACT

Steve Darnell is famed for his success on the Discovery Channel hit series, Vegas Rat Rods, and as the creative genius behind Welder Up, the Las Vegas based rat rod and fabrication shop. Steve leads his Welder Up team as he brings history back to life, proving his creativity has no boundaries.

Working with his dad at their family’s steel company in Las Vegas, Steve learned to weld and fabricate at an early age. When he started his own fabrication shop, he took his passion for cars to the next level. When the infamous D-Rod drove out of his shop with a twin turbo 12 valve diesel engine that made 1000 hp, Steve made a name for himself.

The car world took notice of the unique builds Steve and his team were unleashing out of their shop; So did the Discovery Channel. In 2013, the hit series Vegas Rat Rods took the rest of the world by storm. Steve’s masterpieces were soon featured in multiple national publications, like Hot Rod Magazine, Diesel World Magazine, Mopar Magazine, and more.

Steve Darnell Appearance Schedule

WelderUp is known for its eye-catching rides, but Steve’s passion has evolved beyond rat rods into other creative avenues. He is responsible for the post-apocalyptic set design, props, and vehicles in Five Finger Death Punch’s music video for “House of the Rising Sun.” Always on Steve’s agenda is creating entertaining content of his own for a loyal fan base on YouTube and social media. As of 2020, aspiring welders can learn from Steve’s years of experience and hard-earned wisdom in his online course at welder101.com.

Steve has always been determined to exceed everyone’s expectations. Much like Steve’s creativity, opportunities to partner with WelderUp and its growing fan base are limitless.

Presented by American Resurfacing and King Olson Racing

Friday June 9th – Dacotah Speedway

Meet and Greet Prior to Races

Saturday June 10th – Hammer Down Big Rig Show and Shine

Meet and Greet during the Day

Sunday June 11th Buggies and Blues Car Show

Meet and Greet - 10am to 4pm - Main St.