HUNTINGTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Huntington Mayor Steve Williams met with Senator Mark R. Maynard to discuss the 4th Avenue downtown classic car cruise that first started in 2022.
Senator Maynard said, “The Mayor has been extremely easy to work with from the very first time l approached him with my idea. Initially l asked for one event to be held the Sunday night before Labor Day in 2022. It was a great success and everyone had fun so l asked the Mayor for more events, and he agreed to the Sunday night before Memorial Day and Labor Day. The Memorial Day cruise almost completely got rained out. I didnt want to wait until Labor day to cruise, so after chatting with Adam Kazee, president of the Dirtbags car club we decided l should proposition the Mayor to allow us to have Sunday night cruises once per month on the first Sunday night of the month. The Mayor said lets do May through October. I was happy to accept. We finally got some rainfree nights and the September and October cruises were epic this year.”
Adam Kazee said, “Myself and the Dirtbags car club were happy to organize a “trunk or treat” for the October cruise and it was great to see the families dress up with their kids and trick or treat out of the classic car trunks. This cruise gives my club and other automotive enthusiasts something unique and fun to do, its great to see people enjoying their hot rods and socializing in an informal format, how it was when cruising first started.”
So with the summer show season behind us, Senator Maynard wanted to request one more favor of Mayor Williams. He asked to allow the cruise to go year ‘round, remaining the first Sunday of the month. With the success of the event and Mayor Williams stating he had zero complaints from residents and business owners, he gave Senator Maynard the green light to hold the cruise nights the first Sunday night of the month, year ‘round. Senator Maynard said, “I am excited, l believe this is the first recurring tri-state car show that will be held year ‘round. Naturally if it is snowing or zero degrees, there wont be many patrons, but it will be a set date that happens 12 times per year so when vacations, church, family reunions, etc. conflict with the cruise, there will be another one just a month away. I have to mention Princeton’s “Cool Cruisin’ Nights” as an inspiration for the downtown Huntington cruise. That event nailed the vibe that captured what it was like in 50’s then cruising’s resurgence that happened across the nation in the 80’s.
In my talks with the Mayor l was pleased he was willing to connect me to the Huntington area CVB, and the Huntington Chamber of Commerce so we can put this on their radar to add to their calendar so they can help promote.”
The camaraderie of automotive enthusiasts go beyond racial differences and generational differences. The ages at this cruise are young kids with their parents, 16 year olds cruising for their first time, to 85 year olds who were cruising in the 50’s when cruising first became popular.
Mayor Williams said, “l was Huntington City Manager when the cruising problems of the 80’s existed in Huntington, then “cruise avenue” was created on the super block and it fixed the problem. Its a pleasure to see this come full circle. I hope this event continues to grow long after my term is up as Mayor. Its been great to work with Senator Maynard. When l served in the Legislature, Senator Maynard had not been elected yet, but l’m sure we could have worked together for our state, regardless of party affiliation. Automobiles and this event are passions for him, and it has been a blessing to see local business’ benefit from the influx of patronage by the cruisers.”
The next downtown Huntington cruise will be the evening of November 5th at 6pm, with cruise dates following on the first Sunday evening of the month.