Oldies 104.3 WOMC has recently joined in on Cruisin’ Downriver, the Fort Street car cruise set for July 8, as the official radio station of the cruise.

Cruisin’ Downriver, which is being planned as an annual event, will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. down Fort Street between Southfield and Sibley roads.

Lincoln Park, however, will use the area at Outer Drive, one mile north of Southfield, as a primary staging and parking area.

Another recent development is that the cruise Web site is now operational, and can be reached through www.heritage.com, then clicking on the Cruisin’ Downriver icon near the bottom of the page.

Interest in the event has escalated since the first announcement of the cruise in February.

"We have taken more than 100 calls since the announcement and I’m sure the cities (Riverview, Wyandotte, Southgate and Lincoln Park) and the News-Herald have taken at least that many," said Cindy Travis Southern Wayne County Chamber of Commerce cruise coordinator. "People from all over the state are asking about it."

Bill Stedman, program director at Oldies 104.3 WOMC, said his station was involved in helping start the Woodward Dream Cruise, and said the baby boomers, who cruised in the 1960s and early 1970s want to experience that again.

"What you’re seeing is the pent-up interest, the nostalgia, and these cruises capture that and give people a way to go cruising," Stedman said. "Where else in the world would this happen? It wouldn’t happen in Tokyo or Stuttgart.

"Where else do you have the automotive background we have?"

The radio station, which Stedman described as a family, fun lifestyle type of media outlet is a natural for the family oriented event that cruises have become.

He said his station hasn’t yet picked out a site, but hopes to canvas the route this month and find an area to broadcast from during the all-day event.

There will be no registration to participate in the free cruise, and there are a number of events being planned along the route.

Edward Clemente, president of the SWCCC, said he’s encouraging everyone to treat this cruise like a Downriver homecoming, urging area residents and businesspeople to invite friends and family back Downriver for the festivities.

He said the addition of Oldies 104.3 WOMC is a great help, and said Stedman and the station staff bring a wealth of experience and background to help plan the event.

Donald Thurlow, publisher of The News-Herald Newspapers, said this is a community wide event, not just for the four cities along the cruise route, but a chance for all of Downriver’s communities to plan events and celebrate the day.

The Web site has a map of the cruise route and access roads, as well as contact names for the four communities. There is a database, too, of stories written about the cruise in the News-Herald.

The site will be updated regularly, and will soon incorporate other events happening Downriver during the Cruisin’ Downriver weekend.

Riverview has already booked the band Teen Angels at the Riverview library at Sibley near Fort for the evening of July 7, the night before Cruisin’ Downriver, to kick off the event. There will also likely be a car club setting up a display as well.

Lincoln Park has arranged for a ’50s band for its band shell, said Mayor Craig Sochocki, and the city is trying to get a carnival set up at Fort and Southfield.

Southgate’s Special Events Commission is re-planning some events, changing dates to coincide with the cruise, and will have a concert at a site along Fort Street the evening of the cruise.

Trenton has it’s Mid-summer Festival the same weekend as the cruise, and will tie it into the cruise, beckoning cruisers to head a mile farther south on Fort to West Road and on to the festival in Downtown Trenton when they need a break from the action.