Published: April 27, 2007 11:10 am      

Somernites Cruise Kick off!

One of the most popular events in the Somerset area, spring, summer and fall, is Somernites Cruise. America has a love affair with cars, especially old cars—antiques, hot rods, "muscle cars." You name it, wheels are almost a religion in this country.

When a person buys a car, the love affair doesn't end there. Gadgets, accessories, trim, constant care in washing, waxing, polishing and sometimes beefing up power are all ingredients to auto ownership. So, it is a natural that people love to see what others have done to restore, beautify, and customize their cars. Thus the phenomenal success of Somernites Cruise, the monthly parade of hundreds of beautiful vehicles into the downtown Somerset and surrounding areas.

Somernites Cruise 2007, started this week with a number of special events, some of which will repeat for other monthly cruises. So, if you missed it by the time you read this, you can plan a similar event at other monthly cruises.

The April events were to begin with a Thursday night "tune up cruise" from 7 p.m. to ??? at Dairy Queen, between Stoplights 6 and 7 on U.S. 27. Participants can join members of the Somernites Cruise team for this informal and free event. Offered is a chance to unwind before the fast-paced weekend activities. Visitors are encouraged to bring a car, lawn chairs and cruisin stories.

Friday is a day packed with activities. The Somerset-Pulaski Visitor Center, off Route 80 near K-Mart, will feature playing classic rock on radio station 97.1 FM and will be giving away T-shirts and Pepsi drinks. The center asks that you bring your car or truck and just say "Hi" for its welcome period from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Friday evening will see the WalMart Block Party‚ an event that will feature games, food and fun for the entire family, door prizes, costume contests, a live band, dancing, etc. The Power Party will be broadcast on K93 FM from 7 to 9 p.m. For more information you can visit the website: www.Walmartblockparty.com

Saturday morning activities will begin with the "Fun Run" which takes off from the parking lot of Office Depot on U.S. 27. Cars will arrive from 8:30 and depart at 9:30 a.m. Fun Runs take participants to various historical and interesting sites in this area. The April Fun Run will take participants to the Walmart Distribution Center off Route 80 just before you get to London.

A tour of the facilities is offered where you can see the dry‚ wet and frozen sections of the warehouse.

Afterward the entire group is invited to free food and entertainment at the Donnie Martin Collectible Cars in London.

When the group finishes eating, they will roll out to drive back to Somerset for the Show and Shine portion of the show starting at 2 p.m. in downtown Somerset.

Another event slated for Saturday morning is the Classic Car and Truck auction to be held at the Somerset Auto Auction, located off U.S. 27 below the intersection of Ky. 914 and U.S. 27.

Gates will open at 8 a.m. for the sale of vehicles that are antique, classic, street rod or highly modified.

The main event, the Show and Shine display of cars, will begin at 2 p.m. in downtown Somerset. It is expected that with all the activities, cars will roll in until 5 p.m.and take their place on the streets of downtown Somerset. It can be expected that upwards of 1,200 cars will be placed on display in the downtown area and over 10,000 visitors will flock to the show site. Showcars will be seen of all shapes, models and sizes. Throughout the cruise area there will be vendors of both food , auto accessories and live entertainment.

Future Somernites Cruises will feature specialty displays, putting all cars of a certain variety into one area. For instance, the May Somernites Cruise will have "Mustang Alley" where all displays of Mustangs will be put. Other slates for future shows will be Mopar vehicles, Chevy classics, etc.

Following the Show and Shine main portion of the Somernites Cruise is the cruise itself, where participants in the show drive the seven mile distance up and down U.S. 27, showing off their vehicles. It is amazing to me to see spectators lined up Saturday evening after 8 p.m. all along U.S. 27 on blankets, lawnchairs, in cars, in front of businesses watching the display of cars going up and down the highway.

After the roll-out fun up and down the strip, participants are invited to the Don Marshall Chrysler Center after cruise Saturday night fun. More fun and entertainment is slated from that business center.

The July activities include a special run from four locations, Knoxville, Nashville, Cincinnati and Louisville, termed the "Power Run."

Stats from the last car show of the season in 2006 outlines the success of the event. In that show 946 cars and trucks participated‚ 176 doing so for the first time. Cruisers came from eight states, with the long-distance winner being Daniel Higgenbotham, having traveled 1,280 miles from West Palm Beach, Florida, in his 2003 Mustang.