Lockport Cruise Nights showcase downtown district - as well as vintage cars

Lockport — The City of Lockport got its summer season into gear with the first Cruisin’ Lockport night on June 3.

The weekly events, which take place Monday evenings along State, Ninth, and 10th streets in downtown Lockport, are a combination car show and concert in the park and are free for attendees.

The first event featured about 95 cars with a special focus on classic GM models, a bounce house and disc golf for kids, and music by The Neverly Brothers in the park in Central Square.

“I think this is fantastic,” said Jeff Rockel, a Homer Glen resident who is a regular at the cruise night events displaying his 1930 Ford Model A. “I love seeing the kids out here with their families and showing an interest in cars.”

In addition to being a fun time for car enthusiasts to show off their prized vehicles, local businesses benefit greatly from the festivities.

“This is probably our favorite time of year with the car shows.”

—  Christian Callejas, general manager at Lock & Mule restaurant

Multiple local businesses including Villa Nova Pizza, The Creamery, Avocado Theory, On the Grill, Mr. Salty’s Kettle Corn Co., and Springview Sweets had booths and food trucks in the City Hall parking lot near the concert venue. Several State Street businesses offered specials for attendees making their way through the cars on display.

“We definitely get more business on these nights,” said Angelique Edman, a bartender at Embers Grill, which has a menu of Cruise Night Specials and bean bags and music on its back patio. “It’s been busy already, and it’s starting to pick up,” she added around 6 p.m. “We like to do everything outside because it’s a nice place for people to come hang out even with their kids.”

“This is probably our favorite time of year with the car shows,” said Lock & Mule General Manager Christian Callejas. “We love to see everyone out and about and we love doing the beer tent. It brings a lot of people in. We actually got so busy last year that we added food to it this time.”

Lock & Mule’s Tangled Roots brewery offered three of its best-selling craft beers at the event from an open-air beer tent along its State Street seating area.

“It’s a blast,” Callejas said. “It’s nice to see some regular coming back, and it’s great for Lockport to have something like this that’s fun for the whole community.”

Lockport Marketing and Special Events Coordinator Allison Cann said they expected about 800 attendees for the first event, which was slightly lower than years past, but a “good turnout” considering the evening’s uncertain weather forecast and the thousands of cicadas attendees were sharing the park with.

“We’re excited to bring everything back,” Cann said. “We have a few new vendors this year. Emerald Cup Coffee and the La Flor de Morelos Mexican food truck are new but everybody else is back by popular demand. Everybody seems to be enjoying it.”

“I come every week,” said Lockport resident Angie Wolfe, who attended with her son and grandchildren. “It’s great. The music’s good and it’s something fun to do on a Monday night for the whole family.”

“It’s wonderful having the free concerts,” said Cindy Jaworek. “It’s very nice for the city to do this. Lockport has a lot to offer: good bands, good food and good people every week.”

“We come every Monday,” said Val Wunderlich, who attended with her husband Ben and their kids Mikey and Dominico. “We made our way through all the cars and now we’re going to check out the band.”

While the parents may have enjoyed the scheduled entertainment, the kids were most excited about the food when they spoke to the Herald-News.

“I’ve got popcorn on pizza!” Mikey excitedly declared, displaying her refreshments from Mr. Salty’s and Villa Nova. “It’s fun!”

Cruisin’ Lockport is held every Monday. The event on June 17 will feature music from Mr. Myers Band and the car theme will be Camaro Night.

The event is funded by the city and local business sponsors. Proceeds from the event’s split-the-pot raffle and T-shirt sales support the activities.