WKTV Journal’s biweekly video newscast celebrates another Metro Cruise which took place in August with all the activities that took place including the GM Foundation awarding of $25,000 in grants and an interview with this year’s Metro Cruise Pin Up Contest winner. Also, WKTV Community Journalist Bill Rinderknecht talks to members of the Michigan Friesian Horse Club about their upcoming event, the Michigan Inspection, Sept. 22 and 23 at the Gratiot County Fairgrounds in Alma. Finally it is the season for sports, with WKTV ramping up its coverage.
WKTV Journal’s newscast premiers biweekly on Monday at 8 a.m., and then is broadcast at various times and dates on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 25 and on AT&T Channel 99 Community channel. This week, it will run on WKTV 25 Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the following times: 11:58 a.m., 4:55 p.m. and 5:52 p.m., and on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 1:06 a.m. This week it will run on WKTV Channel 26 on Wednesday, Sept, 13, at 6:58 p.m. and 9:52 p.m.
It’s gonna be cars, cars and more cars this weekend as the 13th Annual Metro Cruise takes place this Friday and Saturday along 28th Street.
Once again, the epicenter of it all will be Rogers Plaza with cars, vendors and food along with WKTV on site to record the two-day event.
“It has grown into quite a large event,” said Bob O’Callaghan, the president of the Wyoming Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce, which ha hosted the annual event. “The original thought process was to get a few cars and a couple thousand people at Rogers Plaza to highlight 28th Street and last year we have about 250,000 people and about 16,000 collector cars.”
New to this year’s event is the Blessing of the Cars which takes place Thursday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. at Wesley Park United Methodist Church, 1120 32nd St. SW. The lot will open for cars starting at 6 p.m. Cars should enter off of 32nd Street or Michael Avenue.
On the east end of 28th Street will be the Cascade’s Metro Cruise Warm Up from 4:30 – 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, at the Thornapple Center, 6797 Cascade Rd SE. (near the Cascade Road and 28th Street intersection.) Along with lots of cars, there will be food trucks, live music from the band Decades, kids’ activities, and a dunk tank to benefit the Kent County Sheriff’s Department’s K9 Unit. The event is sponsored by the Cascade DDA, Cascade Community Foundation and the Forest Hills Business Association.
Other new additions to this year is expand hours for the event with it running from 4 – 10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25, and 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, said O’Callaghan, noting the closing times are about an hour later than in previous years.
For Friday, Aug. 25, food and vendors will be at Rogers Plaza along with a variety of cars. Main Stage entertainment will feature Big Boss Band at 4 p.m. followed by local country singer Kari Lynch at 7 p.m.
While the event starts on Friday, which O’Callaghan noted organizers have seen increase attendance Friday night over the past several years, the official opening ceremonies take place at 9 a.m. Saturday. During the ceremonies, the GM Foundation presents checks to several local charities.
At a 11 a.m., about eight ladies will compete in the annual Pin Up contest, which is an era-type contest with the ladies involved dressing according to the era they represent, O’Callaghan said,
“The belief before people get to know Pin Up is that it’s just women perpetuating the old school idea that women should be beautiful and something that men should look at,” said Amanda Miehle, who is Victory Belle and will be competing in this year’s contest. That women can’t be more than a pretty face but Pin Up is so much more than that. It is empowering. Women took something with a stigma and a label that was once almost degrading to women and they reclaimed it. These women are amazing. They are strong. They are empowering. They are uplifting to other women. They are not afraid to get on a stage and show the world they are beautiful.
“It’s kind of like taking something and making it our own.”
There is more music starting at noon on Saturday with blues group Out of Favor Boys followed by country group Stolen Horses at 3:30 p.m. and JetBeats wrapping up the evening with a performance from 7 – 8:45 p.m.
Of course there are activities all along 28th Street at various businesses and car dealerships. One such event that takes place through the entire month of August is the Art Cruise. Similar to ArtPrize, local artists are matched with 18 Wyoming businesses where the artists’ work is featured for the month.
For a complete list of the businesses — or for more about this year’s Metro Cruise — make sure to pick up a brochure at the event or visit 28thstreetmetrocruise.com.
