Car show returns to downtown Niles tonight

Published 9:25 am Wednesday, June 1, 2016

A series of popular weekly car shows is returning to Niles this week.

The first Forever Young Cruisers event is scheduled to take place from 5 to 9 p.m. today on Main Street in downtown Niles.

Formerly known as Bring It Cruise In, the car shows will continue at the same time and location each Wednesday through Aug. 24.

Organizer Rex Carpenter said he anticipates between 180 and 220 people will register vehicles for the show if the weather is nice. That estimate, he said, is based on attendance figures at shows in past years in downtown Niles.

The event took place in Riverfront Park in 2015 due to construction on the Main Street Bridge.

“We were down about 40 percent [in registered vehicles] when the show was in the park, so I am very excited to have it back downtown,” he said. “It’s about giving people something fun to do and injecting life into the downtown area and businesses.”

Although the car shows are meant to feature classic vehicles, Carpenter said “anything that moves” would be accepted, including trucks, motorcycles and new cars.

To register, people can park their vehicle on Main Street (which will be closed to traffic) and sign up at a table near the intersection of Main and Third streets.

Registration is free, but Carpenter said he would take donations that will be used to fund future car shows.

Disc jockey, WJOE, will play “cruise-in era” music from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

With the exception of opening night, the car shows will highlight a specific type of vehicle at each show.

Judges will select their favorite vehicles and award framed certificates to the winners.

Themes for each Wednesday show:

June 1 — Opening night (no theme)

June 8 — Ford

June 15 — Chrysler

June 22 — Pontiac/Buick/Oldsmobile/Cadillac

June 29 — Trucks and four-wheel drive

July 6 — Modified vehicle

July 13 — Volkswagon

July 20 — Old cars (1950s and older)

July 27 — Chevrolet

Aug. 3 — Studebaker

Aug. 10 — Unfinished vehicle

Aug. 17 — Tuner and foreign car

Aug. 24 — Anything that drives