There’s a buzz in the air among car enthusiasts in and around Pilot Mountain this week as the word got out that the Hot Nights and Hot Cars summer cruise-in series will finally be making its return to the downtown area.
All 2020 series events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic along with the first two cruise-ins of the current season. On July 3, however, the series will celebrate the Independence Day weekend by coming back to life with a full slate of traditionally favorite activities from past events, including live music.
According to Jerry Venable, chairman of the sponsoring Mount Pilot Now group, organizers had been in ongoing discussions with the Town of Pilot Mountain about when the event could be revived.
“We had looked at starting back in June, but to make sure we’d be able to go ahead and confirm a date, we decided on July,” Venable said.
After a restart date was chosen, expectations were that July’s event would not include a popular staple of past events, a well-known beach music band playing live on the Depot Street stage. Those plans changed after last week’s relaxing of mask requirements by the CDC.
“We had planned on having The Entertainers, but when we thought there wouldn’t be any live music we’d cancelled with them. I was afraid they’d already booked the date again but reached out just to see. They were still open and we were really pleased to be able to get them back,” Venable said.
Having played at several cruise-ins, the band is a familiar one for local beach music fans. Formed in 1980, the group combines beach and soul classics, including their own, with a diversity of selections. Highlighting their array of awards collected over the years, The Entertainers were voted the Carolina Beach Music Group of The Year for 2014.
“What a kick off for the season, and what a day to start back,” Venable noted with enthusiasm. “Independence Day is an awesome time to get this started. It’s worked out great. It’s perfect.”
For years the long-running series has proven to be extremely popular, regularly drawing hundreds of cars and thousands of classic car and beach music lovers to fill the small town on the first Saturday of each month throughout the summer.
While drawing visitors from as far away as other states, the events have also been a favorite gathering spot for locals who come early and stay throughout the day. With stores benefiting from the increased pedestrian traffic, downtown businesses have also come to eagerly anticipate the events.
“The car shows in downtown Pilot have become a local institution,” Pilot Mountain Mayor Evan Cockerham said. “When the weather is good, this event always brings thousands to our town. We are grateful to Jerry and to Mount Pilot Now for working with the town to bring this back.”
Other returning features will include a 50/50 drawing as well as the sale of commemorative event t-shirts.
According to Venable, the series is expected to settle back into its regular summer schedule, with events to be held on the first Saturday of each month through October.
Announced hours are 3-9:30 p.m. but, because of the events’ popularity, downtown streets usually begin to fill by noon. Classic and spectator vehicles continue to make their way into town throughout the afternoon, cruising Main Street or parking to allow owners to experience the event while sitting or strolling. Multiple parking areas are designated for spectators while specific lots are reserved for classic vehicles.
“We’re working on lining up sponsors and we want to go ahead and finish booking our bands for the rest of the summer,” Venable said. “We’ve gotten a lot of calls and interest from Virginia and especially from South Carolina, and even some from Tennessee. We know everybody is going to be excited to have this back.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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