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Twilight will be on the cusp, just getting ready to settle in when the cars begin to roll in for MHD Cruise-In, a once-monthly car show on Devereux Beach that kicks off Tuesday, May 12.
“It’s just a great reason to get outside on a summer night,” said Nick Parente. “It’s an easy spot to stop at and it’s always fun to come and see what shows up.”
Parente inadvertently launched this summer classic almost five years ago when he held a party with some friends on the beach for his “partner in crime,” Tucker Beatty. Everyone in the group had a fun car and they had a good time hanging out, Parente said. And they wondered, if they had a good time, would others?
Yes is the answer. Most definitely, yes.
Parente said the next summer they held a couple of nights, inviting people to come down with their cars, fancy, fun or what have you.
“Then it really blossomed,” he said. “Now we might get a couple hundred on a good day.”
What to expect
The concept is simple. If you have a car you think is cool, that you think others would enjoy ogling, drive it to Devereux Beach at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month, May through October. Parente will show you where to park.
If you like cars or are looking for a reason to get out of the house on a Tuesday evening, walk, ride or drive to Devereux Beach and check out the rides. Parente said visitors can park across the street at Riverhead Beach or in the small lot in front of the main lot at Devereux Beach.
There is no charge to meander in and look at the cars or to show, but drivers are asked to register if they want to show their car and there is an option where people can make donations to the Parks Department.
“Big shout out to the Parks Department,” Parente said. “We eventually got so big we had to involve them and they have been great.”
Why Tuesday?
Parente said Tuesday just made sense to them. Most car shows tend to be weekend events and in Marblehead, if it’s a nice day, you’re also competing with boating.
“And boating will always win,” he said. “Doing it on a weeknight takes some of the competition out of it.”
It also offers a nice break in the week, he said. People often walk over with their dog and stroll dog beach after checking out the cars or bring the kids, who typically run around the cars before heading to the swings, Parente said.
And on the flip side, Parente said the car owners often cruise through other communities rather than their own when they take their cars out. MHD Cruise-In gives people a great reason to show off their cars right in Marblehead.
Why it’s fun
What Parente likes best is never quite knowing who or what will show up. Anything goes, he said. If someone wants to show up and park their 2016 Toyota Corolla they will have a spot for you, he said. And because the cars are parked as they arrive, you never know who will be parked next to whom.
“You might see a multimillion-dollar Ferrari or Porsche and you might see a 1980s VW Cabriole or a Toyota rally car that some guy built in his garage,” Parente said.
Parente said they were pretty confident the laid-back event would be a hit because he and Beatty knew of people in both Swampscott and Marblehead with car-show-worthy vehicles that would come and bring their friends. But he was totally blown away when someone pulled in driving a Porsche with Maine license plates, he said.
“The guy said he saw it online and thought he’d take a drive down,” Parente said. “Some people have definitely made it a trip to come.”
If you go
If you want to make the trip, come as you are. The event runs 6-8 p.m. except in October, when the daylight fades a bit earlier, and on the second Tuesday of the month:
- May 12
- June 9
- July 14
- Aug. 11
- Sept. 15
- Oct. 13, 5-7 p.m.
So plan to cruise on into MHD.
