All Wheels Wet Weekend

Number of spectators and car entries drops as Dayton's biggest event of the year is hit with rainy days

DAYTON – Dayton usually plays host to a large number of excited tourists and car owners who come to town to see some classics of the automobile industry during the town's All Wheels Weekend festivities. While many people made the trip this year, as in previous years, the turnout for the Friday evening cruise and the various events that took place all day on Saturday was noticeably smaller than in years past.

Cloudy, rainy skies were present Friday and Saturday for the 22nd year of the event. The gloomy weather also brought about a drop in the number of cars entered in Saturday's Show & Shine, as well as a smaller than normal crowd downtown.

The weather, which had taken a turn for the worse as the week went on, did not cooperate with the eager car lovers as the clouds refused to break from Friday until Sunday, except for a small window during Saturday night's Demolition Derby. The clouds were accompanied by constant rain and wind, although there were times when the drizzle would let up.

"We haven't had that few cars for 15 years or more," said AWW committee chair Bette Lou Crothers, when asked about this year's turnout. "I don't know the exact number, but I would guess around 270 or so cars, and that wouldn't be far off. We usually have around 380 or more cars take part.

"The problem is a good share of the cars sign up when they get here. They are from the surrounding areas, so they wake up early in the morning and see the rain and don't want to drive a few hours in a downpour," Crothers added.

"We actually had heavy early registration this year, and the number usually follows a curve based on the early registration numbers. We were expecting around 400 cars, which would be a very large show. It was absolutely because of the rain," explained Crothers. "I had people calling and apologizing, saying that they were planning on coming but that they didn't want to deal with the rain."

Although this year may not have been its best year, Crothers wants people to know for sure that they were still pleased with the turnout despite the weather, as there was still a large number of people who braved the elements to not only come and showcase their beautiful automobiles, but also to go downtown and take part in the day's events.