28th Street Metro Cruise Dust-Off

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Saturday’s weather is predicted to be a nice 67 degrees, a perfect day to bring those classic cars out of storage.

The Wyoming Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its 6th Annual 28th Street Metro Cruise Dust Off Saturday, May 4, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Moose Lodge, 2630 Burlingame Ave. SW. It is the first official event of the 15th annual Metro Cruise, which this year will take place on Aug. 23 and 24.

The annual Dust-Off has become a tradition and a kick-off to the summer car shows with car owners finally being able to show off what has been stored under those tarps.

The event, according to Bob O’Callaghan, president/CEO of the Chamber, usually brings in a 100 to 150 cars, depending on the weather. The first 50 collector car owners to the Dust-Off will receive a free Dust-Off shirt, which has become a collector’s item.

To learn more about the Metro Cruise, visit 28thstreetmetrocruise.com.

The Metro Cruise Dust-Off is Saturday, May 4

This year’s Dust-Off also will featured contestants for the Miss Metro Cruise contest (formerly the Pin Up Girl contest.) The annual contest features women dressing in eras from the 1920s, 1960s, to modern-day in full hair, makeup, and costume to present their best rockability look. Miss Metro Cruise has become a popular facet to the Metro Cruise program, according O’Callgahan.

“We are always pleased to see how the women take their time to showcase their professional and classy self-expressions,” he said. “It is a true artistry they present and has become a staple in the event.”

Deadline to submit for the Miss Metro Cruise contest is Saturday, May 4, at noon. Contestants must submit a headshot along with a full body shot at the time of entry. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older. To enter, visit 28thstreetmetrocruise.com/2019MissMetroCruise.

Currently there is about 30 participants all ready registered for the contest. Participants will attend the preliminary contest set for July 13 at 110:30 a.m. at the Wyoming Moose Lodge #736 located at 2630 Burlingame Ave. SW. They will be competing for an opportunity to win a spot within the top 10 finalists. Each finalist will receive a personalized trading cards and appear on the 28th Street Metro Cruise Contest main stage on Saturday, Aug. 24, for a change to be named Miss Metro Cruise 2019. The top three finalists will receive a cash prize.

May is full of some amazing things. Voters for Godfrey-Lee Public Schools pass a sinking millage for the district and the 28th Street Metro Cruise Dust-Off took place. The local farmers markets are preparing to open with Metro Health Farm Market underway and the Kentwood Farmers Market set to start in June.

Speaking of June, the 49th Annual Festival of the Arts is just around the corner on June 1, 2, and 3 in downtown Grand Rapids. A celebration of the arts, the event recently hired an interim director, David Abbott, who stopped by the station to talk about his story of Festival. Also stopping by was LocalFirst Marketing Manager Mieke Stoub who talks to us about how to search the LocalFirst directory to help with a range of needs from spring cleaning to lawn care.