After getting off to a roaring start last summer, organizers with Dowagiac’s Open Header Cruise for the Cause are not content with merely coasting along as the event heads into its sophomore year.

Registration is now open for the second annual fundraiser, which will be on Thursday, July 27. People may register their vehicle — be it classic or modern, or mild or supercharged — and participate in the ride for $20 before the day of the ride, or $25 the day of.

All proceeds from the ride will go toward Cass County Cancer Services, a local charity that helps pay for gas and supplies for local patients battling the condition.

Organizers have souped up this year’s ride, which will take drivers through Cassopolis and Dowagiac.

Participants will line up at 5:30 p.m. at Thomas J. Mosier Well Drilling, at 21867 M-60, Cassopolis. The procession will drive down M-60 through the village before making its way down M-62 towards Dowagiac, where the pack will drive down Division Street before turning onto Front Street.

Following the ride, which is set to end at 6:40 p.m., participants will be able to enjoy a cookout and listen to some live music by Rum Boogie, who will perform as part of the Beckwith Park Concert Series.

Curt Rohdy, owner of Dowagiac’s John & Curt’s Brake & Alignment, returns to the driver’s seat of this year’s event. Rohdy founded the Open Header Cruise last year in memory of his
longtime friend and fellow business owner Ed Kazlauskas, who died after a bout with cancer in February 2016.

“Ed and I talked about organizing one of these events for years,” said Rohdy, who ran Dowagiac’s annual Rod & Roll Classic Auto Show with Kazlauskas for many years. “It was something we always wanted to do, but something would always come up. We had talked that fall [in 2015] about trying it in the summer, but then Ed’s health started to decline again.”

Wanting to do something to honor the memory of his friend and fellow gear head, Rohdy decided to finally turn their shared dream into reality, and donate the proceeds from the Open Header to the local cancer charity in the process.

In spite of the pouring rain that took place the day of the header, around 80 people participated in the inaugural run, which ran from Five Mile Drive-In Theatre outside of town through Front Street downtown. Hundreds more lined the path the procession of vintage and modern vehicles traveled down, cheering on the drivers on as they cruised their way through Dowagiac.

“I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who showed up, even with the weather,” Rohdy said. “After the event, I had lots of people asking if we were going to do it again next year.”

Between registration fees and donations, the Open Header raised around $3,000 for Cass County Cancer Services, Rohdy said.

Rohdy is hoping that the weather will be more well behaved for this July’s outing, he said. His goal is to get at least 100 riders to participate, he added.

“It’s not a car show,” he said. “It’s just a cruise, so just come out and ride.”

People may pick up a registration form for the ride from John & Curt’s Brake & Alignment, Bow Wow Bakery & Bath, Jim D’s Body Shop or from the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce’s office inside the downtown train depot.