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Die-hard antique car lovers ignored the heat and by noon St. Louis Street was lined with hot rods, muscle cars and restored pickups. Many were painted in colors not seen in the years they were manufactured.
Steve Reed's red Corvette and Walter Arnette's white Mustang were in front of the Reed Insurance building, flanked by other cars of their small group of Sunday caravaners.
At the east end of the row was a 1942 Chevrolet which stopped one group of strollers after another who took time to peer at the chrome-encrusted engine under the propped hood.
Eleven antique cars from the Ridge Rodders club, a young organization that does not have its own car cruises, were lined along the curb on West St. Louis Street in front of Heger Realtors and Noonan Appraisers.
The midday heat did not diminish the enthusiasm for the club's members who arrived early, brought their own pop-up canopies and coolers and sat back to gauge the reaction of patrons strolling past their prized vehicles.
Ridge Rodder entries included a 1946 Dodge sedan, 1934 Chevy coupe, 1934 Ford Victoria, 1934 Ford five-window coupe, 1932 Ford pickup, 1965 Mustang, 1934 Chevy two-door sedan, 1957 Chevy, 1941 Cadillac, 1933 Ford pickup and 1934 Dodge pickup.
"We're a fairly new club so we don't have our own events," said Jim Kemp, Ridge Rodders president. "We just started 2 1/2 years ago and we don't have a lot of meetings. So far, we just show up at other clubs' shows."
Laura Buchanan chose a 1967 deep turquoise Plymouth hardtop for the Buchanan Farms sponsors' choice trophy.
"It's completely original and unrestored," said Rich Detert who found the car on eBay. "I traded for it last fall."
The number of people who came to see the cars increased every hour after 5 p.m., according to Loyd Harris, event chair.
"We think the heat is basically what kept people home," Harris said. "But we were fairly sure that the people would come out once the sun was gone."
By the time the band Loose Change took to the stage at 8 p.m. the area in front of the band was filled with eager fans.
"We love coming to play in Pacific," Steve Burgess, one of the band's vocalists, yelled into the microphone. "It's great to see all the kids out here dancing. We usually play in bars and clubs where there are no little kids. This is great."
Even with excessive heat and the availability of alcohol, the crowds were orderly and well-behaved, according to Sgt. Dan Donnelly. As he stood next to a police car and yellow tape across South First at Orleans Street, Donnelly was upbeat.
"All in all it went well. We had one arrest and one individual was asked to leave," he said. "But for a crowd this size that's as good as we could have hoped for."
