CruiseFest parade to bring classic cars back to Berkley

BERKLEY — Dream Cruise weekend is approaching once again, and with that comes the annual Berkley CruiseFest Classic Car Parade.

Berkley’s yearly parade will start at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, on 12 Mile Road. It will begin at Woodward Avenue and end at Greenfield Road.

The Classic Car Parade will feature more than 300 vehicles rolling down the street in view of the residents and visitors to the downtown.

“We’re just excited to continue to bring this parade and event to the city in coordination with the Woodward Dream Cruise as a whole,” Parks and Recreation Superintendent Dan McMinn said.

Outside of the parade, there will be a showing of “A Goofy Movie” at 7:30 p.m. in front of The Neighbor’s Shoppe, 2833 12 Mile Road, music covers from BandWagon and a dance party from the Tri-Community Coalition.

The CruiseFest has been running as long as the Dream Cruise, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. McMinn said nothing surprises him in terms of the kinds of cars he sees drive in the parade, but this is the Motor City, so anything can show up.

“I don’t think I’m ever super surprised by anything, because people love their cars here and the classic car owners … they look at their cars in a very special way,” he said. “The variety of cars is always up there and it’s always nice to see a little bit of everything. So it’s just a good time if you’re a car enthusiast.”

Berkley resident Lance Harrison will be bringing his 1965 Morgan Plus 4 Drophead Super Sport to the parade this year.

The Morgan has been in Harrison’s family since 1969, and he’s been its owner for the last 20 years. The car brand has a long connection to Harrison’s family, dating back to his father.

“My dad raced Morgans when he was younger,” he said. “He had four or five different ones and he came across this one. And this is just a very rare model.”

“The car meant a lot to my dad,” he continued. “It means a lot to me. Like I said, it’s a pretty rare version of the car. I think there’s maybe as far as that year, I think there’s three of them in existence at this point.”

Harrison said he’s brought the Morgan to most of the CrusieFest parades, where he does notice it gets a good amount of attention.

“It’s a really unique-looking car,” he said. “It’s yellow with black fenders, but it kind of looks like something out of ‘The Great Gatsby’ or something. It’s got swooping fenders and real sleek body lines.”

Harrison said he doesn’t take the car on the road too often, but he does bring it out in the lead up to the Dream Cruise.

“I don’t really go out on Woodward during the Dream Cruise too much, because it’s kind of crazy. If I do, it’s a short jaunt. I’ll take the back roads up to Catalpa and just come down to 11 Mile,” he said. “(CruiseFest is) a great way for somebody to see a lot of cars without 1,500 mini vans mixed in with them. …  The CruiseFest process is put together fairly well. They do a good job of hosting it.”