Dust Bowl eager to reboot in July
Jun. 24—The Dust Bowl outdoor basketball tournament took a timeout in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus, but one of Owensboro's staple summer events is gearing up for a big comeback next month.
The 48th Dust Bowl is set to be held July 16-24 at Kendall-Perkins Park and president Byron Owen — who has worked in one form or fashion with the event since he was 13 — says he and the staff are ready to go.
"We hated to have to cancel it last year, but in light of COVID it was an easy decision to make and the right decision to make," Owen said. "People in the community missed it, though, because they've come to expect it every year since 1974 — some even schedule their vacations around it.
"But we're back this year and we're hoping to have another great event. What's made the Dust Bowl so successful through the years is the people who are part of it, who come to watch it, and also those who help put it on — it's the community itself that makes this happen after all these years."
Owen is hoping the nine-day tournament — which has the potential to include 14 competitive divisions — can make its return in as normal a manner as possible.
"We'll do the things we normally do, but COVID is still out there," Owen said, "and we may need to make some adjustments with regard to spectator seating, spreading out the scorer's table area, and creating some extra space in the team bench areas.
"We want it to be a fun event for all involved, though, and we're looking forward to having everyone back at the park this summer.
"Also, we want to fill up as many of these divisions as we possibly can in terms of the tournament itself.
The Dust Bowl will include its Praise in the Park Gospel Celebration at 7 p.m. on July 18. Another significant attraction will be Kids Day on July 21, which will include activities for all ages, including inflatables, along with free hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks.
The Dust Bowl originated in 1974 and was the vision of original event president Jerry Davenport, a former Owensboro High School basketball star who became familiar with the Dirt Bowl in Louisville and decided that a similar event could thrive in Owensboro.
"Jerry saw what they were doing in Louisville and creating an outdoor basketball tournament here," Owen said. "Through the years, many other communities in Kentucky have copied what we did and they have their own versions now.
"Our motto all along was to showcase the best basketball in the Tri-State area, and that remains our motto to this day."
Owen said he and two other individuals closely associated with the Dust Bowl — Othello "Big O" Millan and Rippo Hinton — have agreed to stay through the 50th anniversary of the event, and then they plan to hand the controls over to a younger group.
"I wanted to make it to 50 years, which is a long time to be associated with anything," Owen said. "It's been a great ride, and, for the time being, we're still on that ride. We all still take a lot of pride in putting the event on, and putting it on the right way.
"This year, hey, we're just glad to have it back."
—To enter a team in the Dust Bowl or for more information, go to www.owensborodustbowl.org, send an email to info@owensborodustbowl.org, or call Byron Owen at (270) 302-6310. Deadline to enter is midnight, July 1.
