Cruisin' Dominates the Roadways Along the Gulf Coast

Published by Patty Davis on 08 Oct 2009 3:08pm
Cruisin the Coast Biloxi Block Party
Classic Cars on display at Oct. 7th Biloxi Block Party during annual Cruisin the Coast
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More than 4000 classic cars are cruisin the coast this week, providing quite a show and adding millions of dollars to the coast economy. MPB's Patty Davis reports, the weeklong event has hotel rooms full and Hwy 90 jammed with chrome and convertibles.

Cruisin' The Coast began back in 1996, when the Mississippi Gulf Coast Gaming Association decided to host an event that would attract more visitors to the area. That year the event was confined to the Gulfport Biloxi area, and drew only 374 vehicles from neighboring states. This year, Cruisin Executive Director Woody Bailey expects the total to be 45 hundred.

Bailey: We've got cars now from 37 states and Canada that are represented here. The cruisin and theentertainemnt and the hospitality are a great mix and people like that.

Robert Burress helped show off some true classics at a block party Wednesday in Biloxi.

Burress: That's a 1929 Ford Coup, and this one here's a 31. It was a coup but it's all made outta wood now. We drove 'em over here this mornin'.

Classic cars from every decade are represented in grand style, fully restored with flashy paint jobs and Burress says most come with a great story or two.

Burress: Probably see more seniors than you will young people. Because these Seniors love their old cars. They all get together and reminisce over the old times.

Organizers says every car usually comes with at least four people... spending money in every Gulf Coast town. Tina Ross-Seamans is with the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce.

Ross-Seamans: The hotels are booked, the restaurants are busy, the shops are busy. From one end of the coast to the other...Bay St Louis to Pascagoula, these cruisers are up and down hwy 90. They're cruisin Beach Blvd from bridge to bridge. So it's a whole Gulf Coast event.

The economic impact of Cruisin the Coast this year is estimated at $17 to $20 million, and the cruisin continues thru Sunday.