Walking through the Victorian town of Bellefonte on Saturday, it would be hard to distinguish your surroundings from those of the ’50s, ’60s, and so on.
Streets that are typically lined with Hondas and Nissans were instead displaying classic Mustangs, flashy Bel Airs, powerful Chargers, and throwback Ferraris.
All the fanfare was for the 27th annual Historic Bellefonte Cruise, one of Pennsylvania’s largest car shows and a day that’s essentially a party in the center of town.
From pizza to funnel cake to snow cones, vendors were lining the streets and feeding the masses who came out to see some vintage automobiles.
One of those attendees was Tom McMaster, an avid car fan who says he attends car shows on a fairly regular basis. Like many of those who came out to see the cruise, McMaster was thinking of the days of old as he browsed through a bevy of antique automobiles.
“When you’re younger, you kind of follow them and stuff,” he says. “Personally, I always dreamed of having Corvettes.”
And McMaster was lucky enough to own a few Corvettes over the years, although he couldn’t find any newer vehicles from the brand on Saturday.
“I’m really into Corvettes,” he says. “I was hoping to see a newer 2014 or 2015 Corvette and they didn’t have any, but there’s a lot of nice stuff here.”
McMaster has been to the cruise a few times on the past, driving in from Lock Haven to see the cars. On Saturday, he was extremely impressed by the selection of cars on Allegheny Street and West High Street for the annual show.
“I’m a car guy. They always have a nice show up here with a lot of nice cars,” he says. “It’s very impressive to see the cars they get. They get a lot of nice quality cars.”
While anyone who has the opportunity to see such a stunning variety of vintage cars is a winner, there are truly winners and losers when it comes to judging automobiles entered in the cruise. The cruise brings in a crew of professional judges for the event, who evaluate cars based on cleanliness, interior and exterior quality, mechanical condition, and other criteria.
One of the cruise’s big winners is Randy Fohringer, who owns a 1973 Dodge Challenger he bought and restored five years ago. Fohringer took home the top prize for a 1949 to 2009 Mopar Stock car.
When Fohringer purchased the Challenger, it was green, but he opted to go with a factory pink color for the vintage Dodge with a black stripe down the middle.
“I like any kind of muscle car. I like them all,” he says. “I grew up in that era. It makes you feel young I guess to have these cars. It keeps you feeling young.”
Fohringer has entered cars in the Bellefonte Cruise quite a few times, and he knows better than most what it takes to leave the event with an award plaque on the passenger seat.
“It’s about how much quality it has and all the little details in the car,” he says. “A lot goes into taking care of it. You need a garage to keep it in and you can’t drive it too much.”
The proud car owner says he’ll keep bringing cars to the cruise in years to come.
“I just like cars and like the people and like the challenge,” he says.
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