Car Loves Gearing Up for August 1st event along Gratiot
By Mitch Hotts | Macomb Daily
Published July 18, 2021
Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini stands near a classic car as he prepares to serve as grand marshal of the Clinton Township Gratiot Cruise coming Aug. 1. FACEBOOK PHOTO — ANTHONY FORLINI
Macomb County Clerk-Register of Deeds Anthony Forlini has been named the grand marshal of Macomb County’s largest cruise coming up next month.
Forlini is the special guest of the Clinton Township Gratiot Cruise, taking place Sunday, Aug. 1. He confirmed the appointment Sunday after making a social media post announcing the move Saturday night.
“If the rain continues, the event will switch to an ark building contest,” Forlini joked on his Facebook post, referring to recent days of showers and thunderstorms that resulted in flooding and street closures throughout southeast Michigan.
A certified financial planner, the Republican from Harrison Township was elected county clerk in 2020. He served in the Michigan House of Representative in District 24 2011-2017 and formerly was the the Harrison Township supervisor from 2004-2011.
Calling the Gratiot Cruise grand marshal designation “an honor,” Forlini shared a story about his 1967 Camaro that was a gift from his grandmother, who owned it when the vehicle was brand new.
“She gave it to me in 1977, a few years before I graduated from Fraser High School,” he said. “Me and my dad worked on it to restore it, added racing stripes. We worked on quite a bit. We made it a sweet little car.”
Now in its 18th year, Clinton Township’s Gratiot Cruise is Macomb County’s largest procession of hot rods, roadsters, motorcycles, antique vehicles, pickup trucks and other wheeled contraptions that gather on Gratiot Avenue between 14 Mile Road and Wellington Crescent.
The event was cancelled last year due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 crisis. Gratiot will again host the vintage vehicles this year, along with related parties along the strip’s bars, restaurants and elsewhere.
“The cars will be back and so will the people,” said Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon.
Some of the members of the Clinton Township Gratiot Cruise Committee stand by a 1964 Dodge Polara drag racer owned by brothers Jim and Tom Tiganelli.PHOTO — CLINTON TOWNSHIP GRATIOT CRUISE COMMITTEE
One change for this year will be moving the kids driving in the Pedal Car Parade off Gratiot and into the Cruise Headquarters at the Moran Chevrolet McLaren Macomb building on Gratiot at Metropolitan Parkway. The other change will be the elimination of an escorted VIP parade lap around the cruise course.
Activities have been expanded at the Dorian Ford Family Fun Zone at Regional Shopping Center. Organizers plan a faux race track for kids, along with food trucks, entertainment, activities hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department, a Touch-a-Truck event, along with a variety of vendor displays and various nonprofits.
For more information, visit ctgratiotcruise.com.