2 days ago
Woodward Dream Cruise turns 30 with fans both new and seasoned celebrating together
The Woodward Dream Cruise, a 16-mile joyride from Ferndale, Michigan, to Pontiac, Michigan, was back this weekend.
The Detroit tradition celebrated 30 years of vintage cars, hotrods and so much more.
What started off as a fundraiser for a soccer field in Ferndale has grown to a crowd of more than 1 million people that come to check a sea of cars cruising down Woodward Avenue.
Fans come prepared for the event.
"We got a lot of water. We got the umbrella set up. We have some little fans and a battery pack to charge them, and just trying to stay hydrated and in the shade," Chelsea Lyson, from Taylor, Michigan, said.
It has classic cars and more unique finds.
"My first car was a classic '79 Lincoln that I got in 2000, and I used to drive it up and down Woodward, doing the Dream Cruise when I had it, and I missed coming back," Lyson said.
Some spectators have been coming to the Metro Detroit institution for nearly 30 years.
"I've been coming since 1996," Ray Lemanski of Sterling Heights, Michigan, said. "I had a Corvette, and I sold it a couple years ago, but we would come out here for about, probably 10, 12 years at least."
Some people at the event on Saturday were there for the very first time.
"I wanted to spend time with family, and I've been, like, growing interest in cars and motorcycles and things like that, and seeing this on social media since last year," Genesis Delafranier, from White Lake, Michigan, said. "It was like, 'Oh, this seems really interesting.'"
The Woodward Dream Cruise is where all the car enthusiasts were this weekend.
"I think cars are an extension of people's personalities, but also the kind of personality that they want to embody," Chris Feuell, CEO of Chrysler, said.
It's the biggest single-day automotive event in the country with more than 40,000 cars on the road.
"This is the biggest in the United States. I love cars, and it's just relaxing to see the old cars and remember, hey, my grandfather used to have that car back in the day," Miles Davis, from Cleveland, OH, said.
The cruise has been bringing people together since 1995.
