Campus Martius car festival attracts cruisers

DETROIT -- The Detroit Festival of Speed and Style continues on Sunday with more than 200 classic cars on display at Campus Martius Park.

The free event started Friday and is the first in a string of car-related events, held in advance of next weekend's Dream Cruise on Woodward Avenue.

On Saturday, cruisers met at the park in their rides and then drove to St. Clair Shores for lunch, said Marvin Towns Jr., a festival organizer. A charity event scheduled for Saturday evening was canceled.




The festival will include a motorcycle show, sponsored by Red Bull, on Sunday. Friday night, there were about 30 cars on display at the park, significantly more than last year, Towns said.

"It was probably triple," Towns said of the increase.

But turnout of spectators at the park was low Friday night. A handful of people listened to music played by the DJs and even fewer danced. About 100 people danced in the park last year. There also were numerous vendors that sold drinks last year.

Towns said the Mexican Consulate in Detroit was organizing vendors but ran into "issues." He could not say what specific issues. No one answered phone calls Saturday at the consulate.

A manager at Café Au Bon Pain said the eatery located inside the park did not stay open late on Friday because the café was not told about the event.