Jennifer Flanders, of Depew, N.Y., shows her patriotic 2021 Gladiator at the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival Jeep Invasion on Main Street in Butler in June 2023. Butler Eagle File Photo

The 13th annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Slippery Rock is still seven months away, but the organizers have already announced some updates to their event calendar for the 2024 festival.

For starters, the organizers have revealed that 2024 will debut a more advanced version of the “Babes of Bantam“ course. While the original course will still be available for beginners, the new, more difficult ”Babes of Bantam II” course will be targeted toward those who have already completed the prior course and are looking for a bigger challenge.

The Jeep Playground will be redesigned for 2024 as well, including new features such as off-camber sections and new boulder obstacles.

The Best of Bantam contest will have a new, simplified format with fewer classes to allow the judging process to proceed more quickly.

Finally, the Jeep Invasion on June 7 will have two pre-invasion staging locations for both north and south of town, where participants must report to participate.

Pre-registration for the Jeep Festival begins Jan. 15.

A 1951 Willy’s Jeep was part of the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival Jeep Invasion on Main Street in Butler in June 2023. Butler Eagle File Photo