Clear skies and warm sunshine smiled on the 2nd Annual Bama Coast Cruise May 19, 20 & 21, 2011 at the beautiful Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, AL. Close to three hundred car owners and over two thousand spectators came out to enjoy a weekend of fun and activities with us on Alabama's beautiful Gulf Coast.
Thursday night was our "Early Bird Wiener Roast" on the beach. All the early birds and our crew had a great time roasting hotdogs and listening to music from D.J. Ronnie Foster!
Friday's poker run was high stakes fun as participants cruised the Gulf Coast in search of the best hand. The winners took home a combined $1,000 purse. 1st Place and $500.00 went to Stephanie Cobb with 4 of a kind. 2nd Place and $200.00 went to Chuck Nevins with a Full House; Jacks over 10’s. 3rd Place and $200.00 went to J.J. Johnston with a Full House; Jacks over 3’s and 4th Place and $100.00 went to Kerri Hutto with a Flush.
The Top 25 were crowned on Friday and spent the day Saturday in the "Top 25 Winner's Row" set atop a grassy knoll overlooking the show for all to see.
Friday night's party was at Shucker’s Restaurant at The Wharf Marina. Everyone had a great time showing off their cars, hanging out with friends and listening to music from D.J. Ronnie Foster as well as live music provided by Shucker’s.
An Awards Ceremony was held on Saturday afternoon and this year’s Grand Prize Drawing of $5,000.00 went to Mike Smith who brought his 1951 Chevy Pick Up. The O’Reilly Pick of the Show went to Rick Day for his 1936 Dodge. The Bama Coast Cruise Staff Pick was a 1966 Chevy Nova owned by David & Shawn Sims. A 50/50 drawing was held to benefit the Orange Beach Sportsplex and the winner was Fred Smith, who brought a 1970 Chevy El Camino. In our Door Prize Drawing, Clifford Weaver won a new light weight jack and set of jack stands to take home in his 1953 Ford F100.
The highlight of Bama Coast Cruise was Saturday's Parade Cruise. Stretching out over 14 miles, the Parade Cruise ran from the Orange Beach Sportsplex, down the Perdido Beach Boulevard and over the Perdido Pass Bridge. The City of Orange Beach was a huge help in making the Parade Cruise possible. Orange Beach Police escorted the parade and stopped traffic at intersections to keep our beach cruise moving! Everyone involved, including spectators, gave us wonderful feedback on our Parade Cruise and we plan to make it a Saturday staple of the Bama Coast Cruise event!
We would like to say Thank You to all of our participants, sponsors, The City of Orange Beach, O'Reilly Motorsports Marketing, and all of the volunteers who made the 2nd Annual Bama Coast Cruise possible. We received an outpouring of support and praise from the local community, local businesses and municipalities. It was a great weekend from start to finish. Our event grew substantially from last year and we are working hard to continue this growth and make next year’s show bigger and better than ever! We can’t do it without YOU and we hope to see you there!
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