Thousands of Cruisers head home as Cruisin’ the Coast wraps up 30th anniversary
GULFPORT, Miss. (WXXV)- The 30th annual Cruisin’ the Coast has wrapped up, capping off a week of classic cars, community support, and weather challenges.
Cruisers loaded their U-Hauls and hit the road after a fun-filled week at the 30th annual Cruisin’ the Coast which drew 10,712 registrations from 43 different states and countries despite the threat of Hurricane Isaias. Cruisin’ the Coast Executive Director Woody Bailey said, “We’re happy that our 30th anniversary was able to happen this year with all the challenges we had. It was probably the most challenging event we’ve done so far with the threat of the storm. Thank goodness the storm didn’t show up here. It did slow us down for a couple of days. We’re just excited that we were able to complete Cruisin’ the Coast and make it happen for everybody, all the folks that were in town that came to participate in the event and we’re just glad we got through it this year.”
Parades, auto auctions, drifting exhibitions, and live entertainment kept the excitement rolling all week. The car raffle helped raise $45,000 for Make-A-Wish Mississippi. A new car is already selected for next year’s drawing. “I know the event helped so many people up and down the Mississippi Gulf Coast, people that are in the food and beverage industry, hotel industry, and the convenience stores. This event touches so many people and it’s really doing what we wanted it to do which is helping our economy out. Which used to be a slow time of the year, but now we got this time of the year pretty well cranked up.”
With 904 people already registered for next year, organizers are wasting no time getting ready for the 2027 Cruisin’ the Coast. Cruisin’ the Coast 2027 is set for October 3rd through the 10th.
