In spite of having 56 people preregister for the event, Dowagiac’s Curt Rohdy was apprehensive Thursday about the turnout for the one-night car show he had spent the last several months organizing.

With sporadic rain showers ruining what was otherwise great weather that afternoon, Rohdy figured that only around 20 to 40 vehicles would actually participate in the cruise, which he had organized in memory of his late friend and fellow car buff, Ed Kazlauskas.

So, when he rolled into the starting point of the show at Five Mile Drive In Theater, he was pleasantly surprised to see that nearly 90 vehicles were parked there, waiting to literally get the show on the road.

“I almost teared up when I drove in to see all those cars parked there,” Rohdy said. “It was amazing.”

A little rain was not enough also to keep of dozens of onlookers — many of who wearing T-shirts sporting a picture of Kazlauskas reading “#EddieStrong” — from lining up along Front Street to cheer on the procession of vehicles as they looped around downtown, paying tribute to the longtime business owner.

In spite of the weather, Thursday evening was a tremendous debut for the show, the first-ever Dowagiac Open Header Cruise.

“I’m sure Eddie would approve of everything we have done for him this afternoon,” Rohdy said to the crowd assembled at Beckwith Park following the show.

Rohdy, the owner of John & Curt’s Brake & Alignment, had worked with Kazlauskas, the longtime owner of Jim D’s Body Shop, for many years to organize Dowagiac’s annual Rod & Roll Classic Auto Show. Following Kazlauskas death in February due to cancer, Rohdy decided to honor his friend by organizing the open header cruise, which was an idea the two had bounced around for several years.

In all, registration fees from the event drew in around $1,700, all of which will be donated to Cass County Cancer Services, which provides assistance to locals battling the disease, Rohdy said.

On top of his donation, Kazlauskas’ sister, Janie Reifenberg, had a check of her own to present the cancer agency Thursday.

The branch manager with the local Honor Credit Union had spent the last several months making and selling the “#EddieStrong” t-shirts sported by many of the drivers and onlookers Thursday, raising $525 for the organization.

While she initially expected to only sell around 20 shirts, word quickly spread around town about her project, with demand growing to the point where she sold more than 200 to people wishing to pay their respects to her brother, a beloved figure of the community.

“I have never seen anything like this before, and I’m not sure if I ever will again,” Reifenberg said.

Kazlauskas’ wife of nearly 40 years, Sue, also thanked the participants in the cruise, saying she was overwhelmed by the support the city has given her husband.

“He would be so humbled and honored that the community, his family and his friends cared so much about him to be here today,” Sue said.

Based off the reception, Rohdy would like to have the opportunity to bring back the Open Header Cruise next year, if the Kazlauskas family was up for it, he said.