The Woodward Dream Cruise, which bills itself as “the world’s largest one-day celebration of classic car culture,” said Friday that it "is continuing as planned in August."

"Please know," Michael Lary, the president of the cruise said in an email to the Free Press, "that we are working to deliver the same caliber of family-fun activities that you have come to expect for the past twenty-five years."

It is scheduled for Aug. 15, although it is unclear how many people will attend given the coronavirus pandemic; or how communities along Woodward, which usually support the event, will do so this year.

It also is unclear whether the deadly coronavirus, which has caused states nationwide to impose various social distancing orders, will be a threat to Michiganders three months from now.

In the past, the event has attracted 1.5 million visitors and more than 40,000 muscle cars, street rods, custom, collector and special interest vehicles from across the nation and around the world.

Cruising — driving up and down Woodward — doesn't involve much physical contact, but it draws hundreds of thousands of people to Oakland County to venues to see the classic cars and interact.

It relies on local restaurants and hotels to be open.

Lary said the cruise "continues to rely on the strong relationships we have with cruisers, sponsors, exhibitors, spectators, and enthusiasts, to provide another celebration of all things automotive."

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The cruise started in 1995 as a small fundraiser to raise money for a soccer field in Ferndale.

Nelson House and a group of volunteers sought to relive and recreate "the nostalgic heydays of the 50s and 60s" when Motor City steel cruised up and down Woodward Avenue, also known as M1."

That year, 250,000 people participated.

Since then, the event has grown and spurred other gatherings that have extended the one-day event to a week of activities along Woodward, when runs through multiple Oakland County communities.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.