Downtown Car Cruise Brings Hundreds of Classic Cars to Woodbridge

Hundreds of vehicles - from classics to recent models, Beetles to Mustangs, the Batmobile, and even a pair of DeLoreans - lined Main Street, drawing hundreds of car fans out on a balmy Wednesday evening for the annual Downtown Car Cruise.

The Cruise, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, has been steadily growing since its inception.  "(The Cruise started) as a merchant chamber/township decision, before they handed it over to us," said Leon Schwartz, who owns Carpet Maven with his wife, Sherri.  The two have been running the Cruise ever since.

"We thought, 'what better way to bring the community together?'" said Sherri Schwartz of the Cruise, which allows anyone to show off their vehicle (as opposed to traditional car shows, which have certain restrictions on the age or make of the vehicle entered).  The inclusive nature of the Cruise was evident last night, as recent-model Mustangs shared the pavement with their 1960s-era forefathers, among many other recent and not-so-recent model cars.

An exact count on the number of cars was unavailable (as some chose not to register to be eligible for trophies), but numbered in the hundreds.  Twenty-six trophies were handed out, with each winner also receiving a pair of tickets to the Somerset Patriots game on August 14th, which is, naturally, Car Show Night at the minor league baseball stadium.

The evening was kicked off by Cub Scout Troop 148, who marched down Main Street, followed by the National Anthem, sung by Morissa Schwartz, Leon and Sherri's daughter.

"July's show is always my favorite," said Sherri.  "I'm never prouder to be a Woodbridge resident, parents and kids give up their time to help me for the July show, and I appreciate that.  We've made many friends, and I couldn't imagine not doing it."

If you missed Wednesday's show, you're in luck:  There's still one more Downtown Car Cruise this summer, set for Wednesday, August 17th.