By Darlene Brace
The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce is coordinating the 31 Annual Downtown Jamestown Cruise-In event. There will be all kinds of classic cars, hot rods, and other cool cars old and new. This is one of the biggest events in downtown Jamestown during the summer season, and it always draws quite a crowd.
The cruise-in will take place on August 9 from 5pm-9pm, lining blocks of streets of downtown Jamestown. Most of the cars will be displayed on Third Street between Spring Street and Washington as well as North Main Street, Cherry Street, and Pine Street between Second Street and Fourth Street. At 3pm, these streets will be barricaded and shut down. The only entrance will be at the corner of Third Street and Spring Street near the Reg Lenna. You will have to enter there and register your car, between 3-5pm. Registration is $10 a vehicle, and you can register in person that day, or you can preregister online up until August 5th.
into the air over an Olympic-sized pool at Jetpack Flying Water
Circus 3x/day all 12 days of the fair in Hamburg, NY.
With your registration, your car will be entered into the People’s Choice Best Car Contest. For this contest, cars will be voted on by the public. People who want to vote will text the number of the car that they have selected as their choice for the best car. The winner of the contest will be awarded a $50 Shop Local gift card, that can be used at numerous local businesses in the area. To encourage people to participate in voting for their favorite car, a $50 Shop Local Gift Card will also be awarded to a lucky person that participates as a voter. The winners of the contests will be announced by the end of the evening and will also be posted on Facebook.
For added entertainment, there will be live music at the corner of Third Street and Main Street. The band “The In Crowd” will be performing on stage from 5-9pm. The In Crowd plays eclectic sets of music ranging from golden oldies to present day music covers as well as a few originals. There is sure to be a little bit of everything to please everyone in the crowd.
In that same area, The Babe Ruth World Series will be having a fundraising food tent. This food tent will include hot dogs, hamburgers and beverages. Down the street, there will also be the 3 C’s food truck. This food truck will have a variety of foods such as hotdogs, hamburgers, other hot sandwiches, and delicious finger foods. For your sweet tooth, there will be Ace Kettle Corn, a family-owned business from Jamestown, offering sweet and salty popcorn.
The cruise-in is a free event for the public to stroll down the streets and gaze at all the cars and enjoy the live music and foods. It should be noted that there are no open containers of adult beverages on the streets, but many of the bars and restaurants will be open and you are encouraged to stop in. Some of the downtown restaurants that are likely to be open will be The Pub, Hotspot Café, 4 Below Haggy’s Bar & Grill, The Cherry Lounge, Sauce, and the newly opened Wicked Warrens. The Pine Cone Ice Cream Shop on Pine Street will also be open for all of you that want ice cream on this fun summer night.
This is a fun family community event. It is the hope that this event will bring people to downtown Jamestown to see not only the cars but explore the small businesses that are open in the downtown area. Whether you have a vintage car or a new ride, anyone that wants to show off their car can participate in the cruise-in. To find out more information or to preregister for the cruise-in, go online to www.chqchamber.org.
So, rev up those engines, polish your ride, and register to participate or just come downtown to support the community and local businesses. Stroll down the streets and check it all out. Either way, you are sure to have a fun evening at the 2024 Downtown Jamestown Cruise-In.