Cruise in to Williams

Annual event a local highlight

Music, burgers and cool cars. What more could anyone want? The 2010 Cool Country Cruise-in, an annual tradition in Williams, will return to the community Aug. 13-14. The fun-filled event offers great food, great tunes, and revving engines, as well as a number of other great attractions sure to please both residents and those paying a visit to the Route 66 community of Williams. Featuring a poker walk, raffles and more, it's easy to see why the event has remained a fixture for over a decade.

"This is our 14th cruise-in here in Williams. I think the reason why it's so popular is, in August, we have people that come from all over the United States. But we have a lot of people from Phoenix, Lake Havasu, and they come to the cool pines of northern Arizona to escape the dry heat in the desert. When it's 110 down there it's a cool 75, 80 degrees here," Moore said.

The cruise-in, he said, is one of the biggest car shows in the state.

"It's a pretty competitive show and we have a lot of very nice cars that come here. If they're selected for a trophy at the car, they have really earned something special," Moore said.

Cars are expected to line Route 66 early on Aug. 13, engines gunning, and will remain through the end of the day Aug. 14.

Twisters' owners Jason and Stefanie Moore put on the event. Twisters is located at 417 E. Route 66. When they bought Twisters roughly four and a half years ago, the two decided they would carry on the tradition of offering the event each year.

The famous "burger burn" will also be held during the Cruise-in for the whole community, whether one is registered for the car show or not. Locals and car enthusiasts are all invited to come down for the burn, Moore said.

"There will be a burger burn on Friday Aug. 13 right here in front of Twisters from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. We've been known to go as late as 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. We want to make sure everyone gets fed," Moore said. "We'll also feed you on Saturday, Aug. 14, from 11 a.m. to whenever, whenever people stop coming. We'll be glad to cook for you."

A total of 36 trophies will be awarded during the cruise-in.

"We added a new trophy this year. It's called 'Rat Rod,' which is basically a vehicle that has multiple parts in it. It may have a Chevy engine, a German torque converter, it has a little bit of everything," Moore said.

Other categories include best Ford, best Chevy, best street rod, best muscle car, best paint, best motorcycle and many more.

Car registration for the cruise-in begins at 11 a.m. Aug. 13 and will continue to 3 p.m. Music and Sock Hop dancing will also be a part of the Cool Country Cruise-in.

"We're going to have bands. I'm anticipating we'll have Hack and the '57s. The Sweet Lemon will be here as well," Moore said.