BELLEFONTE — A place that prides itself on its history cruised back into it Saturday.
The sunshine sparkled off the buffed-out chrome, polished windshields and glitzy paint jobs of the 250 classic cars on display at the Bellefonte Cruise. The event has attracted car and motorcycle lovers to downtown Bellefonte for the past 23 years, said Dave Provan, the event’s public relations chairman.
“For a lot of the people here, it’s a way to relive our past,” Provan said, referring to the the days when hot-rods ruled the roads and served not only as the preferred means of transportation, but also as a main conduit of communication.
“In the 1960s and ’70s, all the kids would spend their Fridays and Saturday nights driving around town. People driving in opposite directions would just stop and chat. It was how boys and girls would meet,” Provan said.
Those days died out after police cracked down on cruising in the ’70s and ’80s. The Bellefonte Cruise began in 1988 after police gave a group of self-described “motorheads” permission to cruise for one day a year, allowing them to lawfully relive the glory days of their youth, Provan said. As part of the event, organizers began to collect money for local charities, raising on average between $5,000 and $15,000 annually.
The event has morphed into one of Bellefonte’s busiest days of the year, attracting thousands of people to the downtown area from as far away as Florida.
“It’s one of the best cars shows I’ve been to,” night,” he said. “It was just car after car lined up, conversations going on — a social event.”
Dandso’s taste in cars has branched out internationally since his youth. He was sporting a Honda S2000 Roadster convertible at this year’s show.
Steve Kochik, formerly from the Bald Eagle area, had driven from farther away. Kochik traveled from his home in Atlanta in his super-modified 2008 Ford Mustang.
“I’ve done it for the last five years,” he said. “I use it as an excuse to see my family.”
For some, like Fred and Penny Waltz, of Spring Mills, what began as a hobby has turned into a major part of their lives.
They spent a small fortune modifying their 2009 Harley-Davidson Rocker-C into the intimidating- looking, dark-cherry colored “Death Dealer.”
“We spent our kids’ inheritance on it,” Penny Waltz told a small crowd gawking at her bike. When they responded with laughter, she added, “I’m serious.”
Most of those attending the cruise, like Todd and Lori Walker, of Penns Valley, were locals who wanted to make the most of a sunny day and decided to check out the scene.
“We just came to walk around,” Todd Walker said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Mustangs.”
Having fun downtown, passing the day away through the guiltless indulgence of ogling at muscle cars is exactly what organizers aim for every year, said Dave Provan.
“That’s exactly how it used to be,” he said. Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.
