HOUSTON — This weekend marks the 6th Annual Houston Community Classic and with it all the things that one can expect from a civic festival: The crowning of a Little Miss and Little Mister Houston on Saturday, a vintage car show, a 5K run for the adults and 1K fun run for the kids, beverages and gambling tent for the over-21 crowd, a kiddie tractor pull, live rock-n-roll, raffles, and fair food such as ribeye sandwiches and funnel cakes which will be provided by local churches. The festivities are slated to begin at 4 p.m. Friday and run through midnight Saturday. The Classic will once again be held at the Hardin-Houston High School Grounds.

Cori Steiner has been on the the Houston Community Classic committee since its inception six years ago. While the crowds were dampened by a late-June monsoon last year, the forecast calls for fair weather through the weekend, a fact which Steiner is thankful.

“This weekend is supposed to have great weather, we’ll be fine.” Steiner said. “(The Houston Community Classic) is a chance to bring our community together. We can all hang out and have a good time.”

A staple of the Houston Community Classic is the Adam Kemp Car Show. Mr. Kemp was a 1993 Houston High School grad who died and left behind three daughters, all of whom also attend the Hardin-Houston School District. Registration for the car show starts at 5 p.m. Friday, with awards being handed out of 7 p.m.

New this year to the Houston Community Classic is a dodge ball tournament, with the proceeds of the tourney going to benefit David Stammen, who is fighting anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Registration for the tourney starts at 1 p.m. Saturday, and balls start to fly at 2 p.m. The costs is $30 per team with a maximum of 10 players per squad. All players will be required to sign a waiver before participating. All proceeds will go to David and his family to help with the costs of his medical expenses.

And no hometown celebration would be complete without a coronation. The Little Miss Houston and Little Mister Houston contest will take place in the entertainment tent at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Those seeking a crown must register by noon and be prepared to look spiffy and answer a couple of questions from the emcee.

The Lockington Fire Department will again be operating the gambling tent, and beer will be available stating at 4 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday. Patrons should expect to show proof of age.

When asked what her favorite part of the weekend was, Steiner was quick to answer.

“The bands,” Steiner said without hesitation. “I love the bands”

The Houston Community Classic has two crowd-pleasers lined up for the weekend. Strategy, which will headline in the entertainment tent starting at 8 p.m. Friday, has a local connection as frontman and cow-bell aficionado Dane Nagle is a 1990 grad of Houston High School. Stranger, a Dayton-based rock-n-roll band (“THE premiere 80’s band of Southwest Ohio and beyond!”), will hit the entertainment stage at 8 p.m. Saturday. Stranger has been together for about two decades and over the years has opened shows for 80’s icons Loverboy, .38 Special, Hall & Oates, and Survivor, to name a few.

In addition, the Houston Community Classic will be raffling off items such as a diamond necklace, courtesy of the Jewelry Barn in Russia, and a $200 gift certificate from Allison’s Jewelry. Organizers also have an ‘attendance raffle’ where attendees are awarded prizes for just showing up, the only requirement being that the winner has to be present to win.

Those more athletically inclined can enter the 8th Annual Houston Classic 5K Run/Walk, with starting gun scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Pre-registration for the 5K starts at 7:15 a.m. at the school. Split times will be offered, as will multiple age groups for both men and women runners. The top three male and female runners will receive awards as will the winners in each age group. Tyler Roeth set the course record at last year’s event with a time of 15:24 , while Allison Roeth holds the record for the women with a time of 18:59, set in 2014.

A complete schedule of events and registration forms for the various activities can be found at houstoncommunityclassic.com.