Friday Afternoon. People are doing their local errands, and the normal hustle and bustle of downtown Longmont seems a little busier than usual. Slowly a couple of perfectly restored classic Cadillac cars come rolling in and stop at what looks to be a scaffolding.

Time goes on, and soon, the street closed signs go up. No, this isn't due to road construction teams with excellent taste and appreciation for classic cars, but instead, for the kickoff of the ColoRODan’s three day party known as the 41st annual Rod Festival featuring the great band “Flash Cadillac”!!

The music started around 5:00 pm and Main Street was packed with spectators from all over. People were loving life!!  People must not have partied too late into the night, since the next leg of the three day party started bright and early at the ColoRODans’ Clubhouse preparing for the annual Main Street Parade. Different organizations and companies in and around Longmont came out to show their support and to kick off the Boulder County Fair. The ColoRODans were represented by not only members and their hot rod bathtub, but also by people who came for the three day festival. A favorite was the General Lee that was in more perfect shape than any car that was actually on “The Dukes of Hazzard” set.

The Tub did need a little help before the parade, but it took several of us to figure out if we needed a small engine mechanic, or a plumber. I just wish we would have checked the brakes!!

Around lunch time the Rodders headed over to the Plaza Hotel to sign up for the Boulder Timing Association’s Road Rally.  Over 100 people joined in this mad, mad, mad, mad, road rally.

PEOPLE LOVED IT!!!!

The route this year hit five stops ranging from Longmont, to Ft. Morgan, to Erie and back to Longmont. More than 60 miles in total. This is an event that must be tried by everyone when we do it again next year!!

When people got back to the Plaza Hotel in Longmont, we tallied up scores and everyone enjoyed snacks, stories and the company of other Rodders. That was, of course, until 6:00 pm when the now-famous Cruise on Main Street started.

This is the second year that the ColoRODans has encouraged the City of Longmont to put aside the “No Cruising” law and allow the visitors and residents of Longmont to participate in the most anticipated event of the year. People young and old alike lined the street in lawn chairs for over a mile on both sides of the street while more than 400 cars cruised for hours showing off their looks and cool sounds they make, as well as the great lighting and “special” features added to them. Cruising wasn’t limited to classics that participated in the car show, but to everyone. My wife and I were in a 1998 Chevy Blazer (okay, I hot-rodded it a little) and cruised up and down Main as well as parked and walked, watching the great show.

One thing to note, when going to these cruises, don’t forget that there are great places to eat and get a beer as well as many great shops to wander into. One of the biggest supporters of the Cruise on Main are the local businesses. Don’t forget to show them a little love when we do it again next year!!

Again, another really late night of great fun..

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!!!!

Seven-thirty comes early, but for many that was the time people started lining up to get prime parking spots at Longmont’s Roosevelt Park for the official 41st annual Rod Fest. This year was one of the biggest and smallest ever!!

The theme this year for the RodFest was the largest collection of peddle cars this side of the Mississippi. There were nearly 100 classic and antique peddle cars in all forms of restoration from Mint to “ Needs a little more love”.  Of course, if we wanted to do some racing between peddle cars and some of the larger counterparts, we did have some amazing custom-built small engines displayed in both I4 and V8 configurations.  These gave the big cars a run for their money. Of course, the rods driven in outnumbered the peddle cars nearly 4 to 1.

The ColoRODans also had some special guests including some of the Denver Broncos’ Cheerleaders -- a real hit with many of the guests as they were able to get their picture taken with them.

There were incredible pin striping artists crafting their art for anyone who wanted to add a little something to their ride.  If you weren't sure if you needed anything striped, they dressed up a 41 Ford car door with some wonderful artwork which was given away at the end of the show. There were a couple of young women dressed in 50's school girl outfits posing with some of the nicest cars from that era, and of course some incredible machinist showing off small engines built from scratch. There was almost too much to take in in one day!!!

We also had sponsors going above and beyond. Randy and Terry Barquist of B's Roofing handed out over 20 bicycles in a raffle to benefit the Special Olympics, while showing off one of the coolest 1960 Ford pickups I have ever seen -- all matte black and looking like it could challenge the fastest rod at the event!

Also present was Zac of Zac’s transmission, Steve Powers of Steve’s Automotive, Jack from Jack’s One Stop, Mike Wells from PMW Machining and Bryce Wolbrink from Bryce’s Street Rods. All of our sponsors are greatly appreciated because, without them, this festival could not have happened.

But about the cars…

As mentioned earlier, nearly 400 cars were present for this show. A great turnout! Surprisingly the number of people visiting the show was the second highest in the Rod Fest’s history! People came from as far away as California and Minnesota to join in the ColoRODans’ fun.  They were supportive, too!  The T-shirt sales were the highest ever, and all the vendors struggled to not run out of their wares.  It was a blockbuster year, and moreover, we plan on doing it again next year!!!