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View Full Version : Grand Rapids, MI 28th st. Metro Cruise



GreekGod
05-30-2007, 07:52 PM
From the Grand Rapids Press :

28th Street Metro Cruise expands to 2 days


Think the state's love affair with the automobile has soured? Not on one of West Michigan's busiest thoroughfares.

The annual 28th Street Metro Cruise will expand to two days this summer. The third-year event scheduled for Aug. 24-25 hopes to attract 10,000 classic cars and 200,000 visitors.

"The event has taken off," said Denise Hughes, Metro Cruise spokeswoman. "There's just a love of cars. It's an automotive state. "We've really grown."

The cruise will run the length of 28th Street from Grandville east to Cascade Township, a stretch traveled by about 50,000 cars a day. The inaugural 2005 event featured 4,500 special-interest cars and about 125,000 spectators. The exhibition last year grew to nearly 8,500 cars and about 185,000 people.

Wyoming police Major John Lind said crowds at previous cruises have been "fantastic," but acknowledged it would be a long weekend for police. On Grand Cruise day, additional officers will be needed from 8 a.m. to midnight.

"There's going to be a lot of overtime for all the police agencies around here," he said.

He expected "a little more enforcement," in part to limit burn outs -- or spinning tires -- on 28th Street. He didn't want drivers to lose control of vehicles, and go into crowds.

The schedule of the cruise, run by the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce, this year for the first time will include two days of activities: 1 to 9 p.m. Aug. 24 and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 25.

Friday events in the planning stages include a music concert and a mini-cruise. The Grand Cruise is slated for 5 p.m. Aug. 25.

Other activities include an auto parts swap meet, low-rider hop-off competition, $1 million car display, manufacturer's midway, craft show and off-street burnout area.

"Part of (the schedule) depends on the sponsorship level and how much people get involved in backing this event," Hughes said.

Information and forms are online at 28thstreetmetrocruise.com.