DOWAGIAC — On Thursday, July 25, cars will cruise from Cassopolis to downtown Dowagiac for a cause close to many in Cass County.   

Dowagiac’s fourth annual Ed’s Open Header, “Cruise for a Cause,” will take place at 5:30 p.m. to benefit Cass County Cancer Service. This year, the fundraiser will be looking to break the $20,000 mark in total funds raised for CCCS in four years, said Curt Rodhy, the event’s organizer.

“If it helps one person, I’m happy,” Rodhy said. “If it helps somebody get to a doctor’s appointment, or it helps somebody get a medical bed or chair or something they need because of this, then it’s well worth what we do.”

Every year, Ed Kazlauskas is honored at the event. Kazlauskas and Rodhy were good friends and both helped organize the Dowagiac Car Show downtown for 16 years, Rodhy said. When the pair handed over the organizing to someone else, they discussed planning an open header cruise and donating the money raised to a local charity. Plans would get worked on, but then something would always come up and the event never materialized, Rodhy said. In August of 2015, the pair talked about doing the event the following year, but Ed was diagnosed with cancer and ended up passing away at the age of 60, on Feb. 13, 2016.

Rodhy kept the pair’s dream alive and planned the open header cruise in honor of Kazlauskas.

The decided charity was the CCCS, because it is a volunteer organization, and it gives directly to the community, Rodhy said.

“The one thing about the CCCS, if you give them $100 or $500, that money goes right back into the community,” he said. “A lot of the stuff is donated, and it doesn’t cost me a dime to put it on. Therefore, 100 percent of the proceeds we take in, we give to the CCCS.”

The Open Header, which was originally going to be a one-time event, eventually gained the public’s attention, Rodhy said, and the event is increasing in participants every year.

“We had 107 cars last year,” Rodhy said. “The first year we did it, we had about 67 cars. It’s been steadily increasing every year.”

Rodhy encourages any type of car to participate in the cruise, no matter the make or model, he said.

“You don’t need a hot rod,” Rodhy said. “If you want to bring a motorcycle, pickup truck, your daily driver, it’s fine with us. We don’t care what kind of car you’re driving.”

The open header cruise will also coincide with a concert featuring the band Rebel Pride, which will perform the same night on the grounds of the James E. Snow Professional Building at Main and Front streets in downtown Dowagiac. The concert, which is hosted by the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce, will begin at 7:30 p.m.

“The city is gracious enough to let us do this on that night,” Rodhy said. “If it wasn’t for those people that are with the city departments it would be really hard to put this on.”

The Dowagiac Police Department, Public Works Department, Cass County Sheriff’s Department and the Village of Cassopolis Police Department support the cruise, Rodhy said. True’s Towing and Recovery also supplies three wreckers and helps block traffic. In addition, if someone’s car breaks down, True’s Towing and Recovery will tow the vehicle home for the owner at no charge, he said.

Participants of the Open Header Cruise are scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. at Thomas J. Mosier Drilling, located at 21867 M-60 E., Cassopolis. A police escort will leave the location at 6:40 p.m. to start the cruise, which will end in downtown Dowagiac. Immediately following the cruise, participants can gather at the James E. Snow Professional Building for the concert, Rodhy said.

“It’s a combination of all these people that help us do this,” Rodhy said. “For just a little cruise like us, if we can hit the $20,000 mark, it’ll be great.”