KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A soap box derby, a small music festival and a free fair kicked off today at Knoxville's Happy Holler district.
This new annual event is called 'Holleroo', and it's attracting huge crowds.
Daniel Schuh, proprietor of Relix and Brookside event venues said, he conceived the idea many years ago.
"About 16 years ago, I purchased the block on Central that has Relix and Central Flaps and Taps and I saw this hill and I said, this is perfect for soapbox derby race," Schuh said. "A bunch of the business here we got together to put this event on so we couldn't have done it without them and the sponsors and the entire community here at Happy Holler."
There was music and a fair while people of all ages attended the event.
Organizers said Happy Holler is turning into the new hang-out spot.
Zack Tarver, front of house manager for the OAK ROOM BY ABRIDGED said Happy Holler has a few new businesses but due to the construction in the area, it's often easy to miss.
"The whole neighborhood association has been really excited to put on something to kind of let the people who live close by know 'Hey, we're all here, we're excited to serve you,' and, you know, we're willing to put on something for the whole family," Tarver said. "Brings the community together and also lets them know they've got a lot of really cool options that are in walking distance if they live close by."
Hundreds of people lined up on the sides to watch the soap box derby cars race.
These handmade cars only have brakes, and people cheered every time they raced down to the finish line.
John Huff works at Tim's Fencing and shared how a bunch of them showed up with their own versions of cars.
"These are Tim's fencing cars. We built these cars this week, and no motors, just brakes and we go down the hill and try to keep them on all four wheels."
The fun ends today at 10 p.m. and organizers said this is a biannual event. The next date is in the fall when they'll be doing another street fair at Happy Holler.
"Happy Holler is all about making people happier," Schuh said. "We hope that people will come out and get to know that this part of North Central is pretty special."