Due to declining revenue, a lack of volunteers and Mother Nature, the organizers of the Great Pottsville Cruise have decided to scale down the event in 2012 from four days to one.
"The numerous days have gotten to be way too much for us," Cruise Chairman Jerry Enders said Friday.
"It's been getting very, very difficult for the cruise committee to find volunteers to run them," Mayor John D.W. Reiley, a member of the cruise committee, said Thursday.
Meanwhile, the economy has caused another regional car show to stall.
The Bloomsburg annual Rod and Custom Cruise-In, held the same weekend as the Pottsville Cruise in 2011, will not continue in 2012, Regis Cabonor, CEO and president of the Bloomsburg Health System, said on the hospital's website.
"Recently we have seen changes within healthcare and the economy which affects the sustainability of events such as the car show. Taking into consideration the resources associated with this endeavor, the executives at Bloomsburg Hospital have decided not to continue with the Annual Rod and Custom Cruse-In. This was a very difficult but necessary decision to make," Cabornor said.
The Bloomsburg Hospital's decision was one of the reasons why the Pottsville cruise committee decided to move its event to Saturday, Enders said.
The 19th annual Great Pottsville Cruise, organized by the Pottsville Lions Club, will be held Saturday, Aug. 11, with a rain date of Sunday, Aug. 12. Unlike Pottsville's previous cruises, this one will have a new format. Many of the events which have become traditions - the continuous rolling cruise along a 10.4-mile, two-way route, the Generation X Sound Off and the raffle giving people a chance to win a Corvette - will be no more.
Bob Madrigal, Schuylkill Haven, vice president of the Schuylkill Valley Corvette Club, is optimistic about the changes.
"I'm sorry they're losing their cruise around Pottsville. A lot of people look forward to that. It will be more of a cruise-in and car show now. But our most fun night usually is Saturday night at the Coney Island downtown. It usually attracts more than 500 cruisers. The Corvette Club sponsors that and we'll continue to sponsor that," Madrigal said Friday.
Meanwhile Sonny Davis, owner of Pine View Acres, 145 Chamberlain Ave., Mill Creek, said he's still going to hold the "Rock 'n' Roll Sock Hop" with live music. It's slated for 9 p.m. to midnight Aug. 10. Tickets are $10.
"It brings people together and, when it comes to the cruise events, the Sock Hop on a Friday night gave them the oomph to go," Davis said Friday.
Changing times have encouraged Enders and the cruise committee to rethink the cruise, a fundraiser the Lions holds to support the community. It has a reputation as one of the county's biggest outdoor attractions and has drawn 10,000 people and 1,000 cruisers in some years.
In 2010, the cruise raised more than $20,000 for Pottsville Lions Charities, which supports local non-profits. But in 2011, the event only brought in "about $11,000," according to Enders.
"A lot of our revenue is generated by registrations. We were hoping for 1,200 cruisers, but only had a few hundred. It was because of the big rain out we had for our Sunday cruise this year. Participation was way down," Enders said.
The numbers of cruise vehicles participating in the main event, the Sunday cruise, was decreasing over time.
"Over the past few years, there were big gaps in the cruise parade. More of the cars were sitting in yards. Cruisers were sitting it out watching the other cruisers. It just got to be so overwhelming. And because of how many volunteers it takes to do it, at least 100, it was too much," Enders said.
So the cruise committee decided to rethink the event.
"It was time for something fresh, new and exciting," Enders said.
The new Great Pottsville Cruise will focus on downtown Pottsville. And the staging area will be Centre Street from Laurel Boulevard to Mahantongo Street, Enders said.
"We're also looking into the possibility of closing off West Market Street up to Garfield Square," Madrigal said.
It will be highlighted by two events: at 10 a.m., the Cruise-In to Jerry's Classic Cars & Collectibles Museum, 394 S. Centre St., and at 4 p.m., the Cruise-In to the Downtown Coney Island, 215 N. Centre St.
While there won't be a parade-style cruise, car enthusiasts will have the opportunity to see vintage vehicles rolling through the city streets all day, Enders said.
"This will be an open cruise. Not a cruise on a closed course," Enders said.
Enders said it will be akin to the Woodward Dream Cruise based in Troy, Mich., which, according to its website, is "the world's largest one-day automotive event, drawing 1.5 million people and 40,000 classic cars each year."
Enders is hoping to draw an estimated 10,000 people and 1,200 cruise cars to Pottsville.
"And this will give businesses downtown an opportunity to get involved," Enders said.
The cruise committee is providing such an opportunity.
Cruisers who pay the $15 registration fee will given maps of the city, encouraging them to visit numerous businesses.
Business owners who want to advertise on the map must contact the cruise committee at 570-622-9510 by March 1, Enders said.
Instead of a cruise car, there will be a raffle for prizes including cash. The drawing will be held at 7 p.m. that day, Enders said.
"We dropped the cruise car. It just ran its course. The ticket sales weren't as strong as it used to be. I blame it on the economy," Enders said.