Recap: Woodward Dream Cruise in Royal Oak (with Photos)

The ground rumbled and the air thundered Saturday as the Woodward Dream Cruise roared through Royal Oak.

"The cleanup begins Sunday morning at 4 a.m.," said Chuck Bonar of the Department of public service. All parking lots, public and private, from 10 Mile Road to 14 Mile Road will have debris blown to the curb before a sweeper goes down Woodward Avenue.  At another crew will clean up after horses used by law enforcement, Bonar said.

The tidying is expected to be finished by 10 a.m.

Royal Oak police are expected to release a list of arrests related to the Cruise sometime on Sunday.

9 p.m.: It's closing time for the Woodward Dream Cruise.

7:30 p.m.: It's a tradition for some Royal Oak residents to throw parties on Dream Cruise Saturday. Kelly Robinson, of Royal Oak, was at a party on Farnum Avenue.

"I love going to all the Dream Cruise parties," Robinson said. "There I some people I only see at Dream Cruise time."

5:30 p.m.: We're noticing plenty of vanity plates in Royal Oak today. Have you seen something cool today? Snap a photo and upload it to our live blog.

5:20 p.m.: Every car at the Dream Cruise is not beautiful, shiny or fast, but they all seem to have a good story.

Hal Price, of Ferndale, says he dug up his Volkswagen Microbus from behind a barn in Ohio.

"I put a new engine in it and now I drive it around," Price said.

On the side of the passenger van is a colorful, though faded, hand-painted mural.

"I wish my dad was here because he knows the story of the mural better than I do, but I guess there was a guy who painted murals on the sides of buildings in Put in Bay, Ohio," Price said. "And, he found this old van behind a barn and decide to paint it, too."

While faded and peeling, the mural is nonetheless an eye-catcher.

"I wind up with it in some sort of newspaper every year," Price said.

4:45 p.m.: Spotted throughout Royal Oak are orange cones, folding chairs, garbage cans - you name it - protecting street parking spaces in front of houses.

4: 15 p.m.: Dan Jones, of Chicago, has a room at the on Woodward Avenue, but he doesn't plan to sleep there tonight. Basically, he's paying $60 a night for a parking space and his own bathroom, he said. He'll crash later tonight at his brother's house in Hazel Park.

"This is just convenience. I'm not sleeping here," Jones said, though he added the manager of the Saranay is "real nice."

Another perk to getting a motel room, according to Jones, is you can drink alchohol in the parking lot.

"If we move our chairs to the other side of the sidewalk and drink, we'll get a ticket," he said.

That is precisely the reason Joe Cacciaglia, of Wyandotte, has a room at the , just a few block down the road. Cacciaglia sets up a small canopy in the parking lot and enjoys a few drinks with friends.

"I have come to every Dream Cruise," Cacciaglia said. "I meet new people, see old friends - it's a party."

Over the years Cacciaglia said he has learned the Royal Oak police mean it when they say public drinking is prohibited.

"It's a big ticket," he said. "So we stay in the parking lot."

Cacciaglia, who has been staying at the Palms Motel since Thursday, said he'll book his room for next year when he checks out Sunday morning.

By the way, Cacciaglia also has high praise for the manager of the Palms Motel.

"He is very tolerant. He puts up with a lot."

3 p.m.: Rob and Helen Chesterfield, of Ontario, have come to several Dream Cruises over the years and have worked out some ground rules.

"I display Elvis paraphernalia while he looks at cars," said Helen.

The couple has a 1957 Cadillac Coup De Ville.

"She lets me drive the it if I wash it," Rob said, "We restored it three years ago but we've owned it 13 years. It came from Butte, Montana."

The couple has a whole lotta love for the Woodward Dream Cruise. They'll spend three days in Royal Oak.

2:30 p.m.: "We are having a pig roast for the and volunteers," said Don Horton, of Backyard BBQ Catering.

Horton plans to serve officers approximately 250 pounds of pork, plus hamburgers and chicken at . He started the pigs at roughly 6:30 p.m. Friday night at his house and began serving law enforcement at 11 a.m. today.

"We've got plenty of food," Horton said. "They'll be fed well today."

1 p.m.: Frank, 6, and Ashton Firek, 2, are running a lemonade stand during the Woodward Dream Cruise and did the same thing last year. Their dad, Frank, said last year they donated a third of the proceeds to the in Royal Oak to buy school supplies for the children in the program.

The Judson Center is a nonprofit human service agency that provides autism, behavioral and mental health, and disability services.

Frank said they used to go watch the cruise but decided with all the foot traffic on their street it'd be a good time to set up a lemonade stand and help out a good cause. The boys will get to spend another third of their proceeds and will save the remaining third.

"Lemonade for sale!" shouted 6-year-old Frank Firek.

12:20 p.m.: Congratulations go out to William Yau, 18, of Troy. Yau is the overall winner of the Cruise in Shoes 5K Walk/Run. Royal Oak High School sophomore Ben Hill, 15, came in second.

See complete Cruise in Shoes 5K Walk Run.

12:15 p.m.: We're noticing plenty of stylish hood ornaments in Royal Oak today. Check out our photo gallery, and be sure to upload your own Woodward Dream Cruise to this blog.

11:30 a.m.: If the sight of Royal Oak police officers cruising down Woodward Avenue in convertible squad cars makes you wonder how the city can afford such luxury, don’t fret. The fancy cop cars all go back on Monday.

“The whole force is deployed for the Dream Cruise,” said Commissioner Jim Rasor. “We don’t have enough squad cars for them all, so dealers have donated vehicles.” Naturally, they want to show off their slickest models, Rasor said, and that is why you may notice a convertible Camaro with Royal Oak Police splashed across the side.

11 a.m.: Tom Ayers and his car buddies were showing off their engines in the parking lot of the Shell gas station at Woodward and Hunter. Ayers, who lives in southern Indiana, travels to car shows all over the Midwest with his 1965 Corvette Roadster and 2010 Corvetter Roadster. Ayers said most of their car engines are new, detailed and made of chrome.

“It’s great, we do this as a hobby,” Ayers said. “They wanna show off the horsepower.” 

9 a.m.: The Cruise in Shoes 5K Run/Walk is just wrapping up at . Among the more than 575 participants were Aaron and Babara Campos, of Troy. "We like doing the local races," Aaron said after finishing the 5K.

"It was a fun route," said Barbara Campos.

Volunteer Diane Raab, of Royal Oak, was cheering on the runners as they approached the finish line. "It's great, good turnout, good organization," she said of the run/walk event. "People are very enthusiastic about it. And you couldn't have asked for better weather for something like this."

Karen Soper, of Oak Park, participated in the event - and so did her sons Owen, 6, and Simon, 3 - who were proudly showing off their medals. "We thought it'd be cool because we've lived in the Dream Cruise area the whole time it's been going on," she said.

"It was great, it's cool for the community," said Jeff Orlando, of Royal Oak, who ran the race with his wife, Carrie, and pushed their two kids in a double stroller.

Race results will be posted as soon as the information becomes available.

8:30 a.m.: Ken Kolton and his friends marked their spots for the Woodward Dream Cruise on Friday evening and camped out. The group packed up a tent, gas grill, food and parked their classic cars at Normandy and Woodward. 

“It’s such a friendly atmosphere,” said Kolton, who didn’t bring a car but enjoys the annual Dream Cruise tradition. “It’s an ordeal, it’s a part of life.”

Kolton’s friend, Bill Woolsey, was showing off his 67 Chevelle SS at the Cruise. It’s a special body style that car manufacturers only made for two years, he said.

“I’ll probably drive it (down Woodward), but once it starts getting busy it will sit,” said Woolsey, of Rochester Hills

8 a.m.: Runners are crossing the finish line at the Cruise in Shoes 5K Run/Walk.

Come back to Patch for race results, which will be posted later in the day.

7 a.m.: The Cruise in Shoes 5K Run/Walk is hopping at More than 575 runners pre-registered for the race online, according to Nancy Smith, the event co-director. 

A  costume contest was part of the event's pre-race festivities. Kendra Barnowski, a Shrine High School student, won the award for Best '50s Dress, and Glenn Finazzo and Jen Minotti, both of Lapeer, won a prize for Best '50s Couple. 

Frank and Peggy Bach, of Detroit, were among the runners warming up on Yorba Linda Boulevard before the race.

"Five years ago I decided to go from couch to 5K and ran my first race," said Frank, 63. "I really liked it and the next year Peggy decided to join me. Now we run two 5Ks a month."

The Bachs plan to stay in Royal Oak after the race and enjoy the Woodward Dream Cruise.

6 a.m.: Who says the Dream Cruise is all about cars? A new event this year, the , will be held on southbound Woodward between Normandy and 13 Mile Road from 7:30 to 9 a.m. today. Registration for the  starts at 6:30 a.m. The course start line located behind on Yorba Linda Boulevard.

5 a.m.: Temperatures will be in the low 70's today under mostly sunny skies, the National Weather Service says  — perfect cruising weather. Last year,  forced Royal Oak police to call off the Woodward Dream Cruise hours early so public safety officers could shift their efforts into the city's trouble spots.