43
Cruisin' the River kicks off 2014 season in Lowellville
Photo
Anthony Yeropoli of Poland checks out a 1929 Ford at the Monday show, which attracts hundreds of spectators weekly.
Cruisin’ the River kicks off 2014 season in Lowellville
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
LOWELLVILLE
The threat of rain, then the eventual downpour, forced the cancellation last week of this season’s inaugural Cruisin’ the River car show.
But Monday’s weather of 70-odd degrees and sunny was a welcome relief for the hundreds of car enthusiasts — and their myriad cars — that trickled into the village’s downtown shortly before the event’s 5 p.m. start.
This is the ninth year for Cruisin’ the River, which attracts everything from classic cars of the 1950s to muscle cars of the 1960s to a variety of trucks and street machines.
“It’s the best car show around,” said Bob Huck of Poland, who parks a car from his extensive collection in the same spot on East Water Street each Monday from May to October. “It’s laid-back down here.”
Bob Gibbs of Hubbard, sitting in a folding lawn chair positioned on the sidewalk next to Huck, agreed. Both he and Huck own and appreciate old cars, he said, and Cruisin’ the River gives them a chance to show them off.
“It takes me back to the old days — the late ’40s, the ’50s, the ’60s,” Gibbs added.
Behind the car show is Al Smith, the event’s organizer since 2006. The show runs from 5 to 8 p.m. each week and is sponsored by the Lowellville Business Association.
Smith said about 300 cars from all over the area typically show up. It’s not unusual, though, to see almost 700 cars and a couple-thousand people in attendance at the car show’s popular theme nights, such as the annual turtle derby, in which live turtles race on transparent tracks, or the Halloween parade, where children, adults and even cars are dressed up in costume.
Though Smith called the event’s location the primary draw — “you can shut the whole street down,” he said — he also cited the food, dancing and games all as reasons people would travel up to 100 miles to attend.
“It’s just a fun time,” Smith said, “and people look forward to it.”
Butch Rocca of Butler, Pa., who has helped Smith put on Cruisin’ the River for many years, explained that the event has “something for everybody.” It’s not like other car shows, where the cars are the sole attraction and “there’s nothing really to keep your interest,” he said. At Cruisin’ the River, there’s always something going on.
“You give the audience a reason to be there,” Rocca said. “And you feel welcome there.”
Rocca added that participation isn’t limited only to classic cars, which are at least 25 years old, and is open to almost any show car or truck, even new ones.
In addition, the $2 registration fee is optional. Any money raised goes back into the village, he said, and is used to fund scholarships for students at Lowellville High School and to help senior citizens living in the village’s assisted-living facility with any expenses. Registration also enters the participant into prize drawings.
And even though he doesn’t attend Cruisin’ the River to display a car of his own, Michael Volsko of Struthers can’t imagine not being at the weekly event.
He’s been attending for the past four years and not just to check out the “nice cars,” including those from the 1950s, which are his favorites.
“I’m just here to have a nice time,” Volsko said. “I enjoy being here.”
For more information about Cruisin’ the River, visit www.lowellvillecarcruise.com.