The Uptown Cruise In, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Stuart, was deemed a success by event coordinators, with more than 300 flocking to Stuart on Saturday to glimpse history preserved, and few if any, leaving disappointed.
“We had everything from a real slick looking brand new Lamborghini to really old, antique trucks, cars, hotrods, model A, the old Tin Lizzie type vehicles. All of them were just beautiful and fixed up as good as they could be fixed up,” Wayne Kirkpatrick, one of the organizers, said of the more than 100 vehicles displayed during the event.
Forecasters had predicted showers throughout much of the weekend, but “we had good weather, which was some miracle between” the frequent rains this summer, he said.
While perusing the vehicles on Main Street, Kirkpatrick said attendees also enjoyed performances by the Part Time Party Band, as well as visiting local businesses.
“I saw a couple of sidewalk sales, with a lot of people outside the restaurants,” he said.
Linda Fain, of Ararat, said she decided to attend the event to meet up with friends that she usually sees at car shows.
“There’s no one here that I don’t know, probably,” she said.
Fain said she enjoyed talking with people, especially about her motorcycle with other bike riders.
Hope Whitlow, of Smith River, said she and her husband, Robert Whitlow, attended the event to show off their cars – a 1965 C10 Chevrolet and a 2022 Chevrolet Camaro.
“We usually try to go to the cruise ins” because we like “seeing everybody,” she said.
Clay Barbour, of Henry County, said he and his family came to the event to show off his father’s blue and white 1954 DeSoto. Barbour, who is also a car aficionado, also enjoyed looking at the vintage automobiles.
“Several of them caught my eye. I want them all,” he said.
Cruise in regular Richard Kreh, of Russell Creek, attended the event to show off his 1966 Mustang Cooper that he bought the year it was made.
Kreh said he decided to attend the event because he found it fun. “You get to answer question and talk about the vagaries of your car. It’s just a thing,” he said.
Kreh noted that he was surprised at how brand-oriented some of the visitors were.
“There’s Chevy guys and Ford guys, basically. When they walk by, some of the Chevy guys will look at all the Chevies and won’t even look at my car. They’ll walk right by it and not even glance at it,” he said.
