MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — A night of classic cars and fun for everyone in Middletown. Cruise Night on Main Street was back in person for its 25th year. People took over downtown for the first time since 2019. The pandemic forced it to scale down the past couple of years.
"It's my first time here so I'm really excited," said Cameron Lewis of Bristol. "I might give all of them 10 out of 10 probably," he said.
This year though, the event was in full force once again.
"Great turn out, great weather. And a lot of cars. It's great," said Mike Hickman of Hamden.
The event shuts down Main Street for several blocks for one night only, with hundreds of cars lining the street and plenty of people eager to look at them.
"Seeing all the cars and telling their stories, seeing where they're all from," said Zamya Jackson of Hartford. "I think it's really cool to be out here, I love all of the cars," she said.
For car lovers, it's a chance to show off their most prized possessions among people who appreciate all the hard work that goes into keeping them running.
"The thing that's nice about it is everybody has a common bond, and everybody likes to do their own personalization on their cars. And then you've got people that do original restorations to bring them back to how they were back in like say '71 in this case," Hickman said.
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Bernie Durgin of North Haven is the original owner of this 1971 Chevelle Big Block.
"It's a quasar blue, it's a 93-94 vette color," he said.
Nineteen awards were given out, but for the owners, it's more about getting to share each unique car with others, and the miles and miles worth of memories they hold.
"I've had it since 2005, my only regret is I didn't buy it before then. Always wanted one since I was a kid," said Dave Brooks of Glastonbury.
The event benefits Middletown Youth Programs.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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