OCEAN CITY, Md. - The 36th Cruisin' Ocean City festivities began early on Thursday, with a boardwalk parade featuring hundreds of classic cars.
At 8 a.m., cars began lining up to enter the parade at 27th Street in Ocean City before cruising down to park in the Inlet Lot.
People from all over came to the boardwalk and the inlet to watch their favorite cars cruise down the boardwalk and pop open their hoods in the parking lot, where the showcasing began. Also at the Inlet Lot were many different vendors selling items from car parts and home decor to clothing.
People from states all over, such as New York, came to watch the parade.
Mike Templeton has participated in Cruisin' Ocean City for all 36 years, working as staff for the last 4-5 years as the tow operator in case of a breakdown on the boardwalk.
"This is like what we call like the old man hotrod networking," says Templeton. "It's really nice for everybody to get together and just talk cars, talk people, and see what's going on. It's just a good camaraderie with everybody."
Mike Stramella from Delaware came to Ocean City with his friends, who are a part of the Ghost Ryderz Car Club. Stramella says part of what he appreciates about this event is seeing the different ways people have customized their cars.
"A lot of it is what they grew up with," says Stramella. "Somebody will tweak it, change the color, change something in the engine. It's, yeah, that's a lot of fun to watch. If you walk through here, you'll see the same cars, and how it's modified, and it's to that person's own preference."
Pop up vendors sold items like camshafts, and roller lifters.
Events as part of the 36th Cruisin Ocean City will continue until Sunday, with Friday and Saturday seeing another Boardwalk Parade starting at 8 a.m.
