A highly modified rock crawling jeep in action at the third Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival at Cooper's Lake campground.

The annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival is gearing up for another event this year as thousands of people are expected to converge at Cooper’s Lake campground on Father’s Day weekend.

The event, which will run from June 13 to 15, is in its fourth year. It is expected to draw the largest attendance in the event’s history.

Festival director Patti Jo Lambert said Tuesday that nearly 1,200 people have already registered their Jeeps for the weekend. That will include the annual Jeep Invasion parade that will take place in Butler from 6 to 10 p.m. June 13.

Lambert said the festival will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 13; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 14; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 15.

The festival will feature many of the staples that have made it so popular, things like a mud pit, obstacle course and speakers’ series on the history of Jeeps.

However, Lambert said there will be plenty of new events on tap this year like a muddy 5k race, which will take place at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. The cost of the race includes admission to the festival and breakfast.

“That day will be Father’s Day and we think it would be a really cool thing for families to do for Father’s Day,” Lambert said. “It’s going to be a pretty big deal.”

To register, visit the festival’s website at www.bantamjeepfestival.com.

Another new attraction will be tethered hot air balloon rides made possible by the event’s main sponsor, People’s Natural Gas. Proceeds will benefit the VA Butler Healthcare system.

In addition to attractions, Lambert said vendors from across the country — companies large and small that are mostly connected to the Jeep industry — are coming to set up booths.

There will also be the usual slate of speakers and historians as well as an assortment of festival foods and vendors.

To learn more about the events, visit www.bantamjeep festival.com.