KENT ISLAND, MD – One of the longest-lasting holiday traditions must surely be celebrating Halloween, with many folks dressed in costumes and walking around their neighborhoods while ringing doorbells and asking for candy and other treats. People of all ages are involved with this wonderful annual outing, which is always enjoyable. I grew up in a sparsely populated area out in the country. When I was age five, the two older next-door neighbors invited me to go trick-or-treating for my first time out on our street. They loaned a store-bought costume, and all I remember was walking along the side of the road in the dark for what seemed like forever, and climbing up the steps to the front doors of our few neighbors nearby!
After all these years, the enjoyment of these Halloween traditions has been combined with showing our cars to create Halloween-themed car shows and Trunk-R-Treat events. On the Saturday before Halloween 2025, I attended one of our better shows, the Kent Island Cruisers Halloween Car Show #31, held at the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department, located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, for an easy 50-minute drive. This event was open to all types of vehicles, with 15 trophies for “costume cars” and one Best of Show award, along with 15 other trophies and one Best of Show award for the cars that were not decorated. This event was family-friendly with many of the entry vehicles heavily decorated for Halloween, as well as a pet costume parade and a kids costume parade, making for a great Halloween experience for everyone.
The forecast for the show called for cloudy conditions with temperatures climbing into the upper '50's by mid-morning with light winds, and in fact, it turned into a perfect fall day for a show. The traffic crossing our magnificent Chesapeake Bay Bridge was light as the sun shone brightly through the clouds high above the tops of the bridges while driving east on Maryland Route 50 toward Kent Island. The visibility on the bay was clear, and I saw several freighters off in the distance south of the bridge's twin spans. There was also a tall, floating crane out on the water, something I had never seen before.
I arrived at the fire department by 8:15 a.m. when there were only a few cars there. My friends, Leo Howard and Glenn Wheeler, arrived a few minutes later, and we parked together, followed by two other late-model Mustangs who were friends with Leo. In fact, as the morning passed, there was a good number of late-model Mustangs in attendance, in addition to other friends I was used to seeing at our local shows. This was helpful as this was a ‘popular-vote’ show. The last time I went to this event was eight to 10 years ago, and I knew only one other person there. With so little support, I lost that time, and again the following year when I returned. I then decided that I would not return after that. But things changed over time, and I became friends with other Mustang owners, many of whom were at this show.
I have attended several other Halloween-themed shows over the years where several entrants decorated their cars, but none of these past events was on the same high level as this one! Many cars and trucks entered in this event were extensively decorated as if they were on display at a shopping center. Some were over-the-top decorated and truly enjoyable to watch, especially when parents brought their younger children to see these amazing displays. There were many children at this event as young as age one who were also in costumes, and even kids in baby strollers. Many cars entered in this show had buckets of free candy placed in front that anyone was welcome to enjoy. In fact, I know of a certain blue Mustang owner who made off with a fair number of Kit Kat bars during the day, but no names will be mentioned.
Later we were called forward for trophy time at just after 12:30 p.m. By then the number of entries had reached only 67 cars and trucks, which was somewhat light from what I remembered from years ago. The club started by calling out the 15 winners for the decorated cars, and Glenn and Leo both won one of those. The Best of Show decorated vehicle was an older Reo truck with an elaborate display of Halloween decorations that only pictures can adequately describe. It was incredible!
The organizers then began awarding the other 15 trophies for the cars not in costume, of which I was a part, and I was fortunate to receive one of those excellent awards. Several other good friends were called, too. (I do not know who won the Best of Show trophy for the non-decorated vehicles). Overall, though, I have to admit that I had no idea how well this day would turn out, and I was pleasantly surprised and thankful when my car was called.
I enjoyed everything about this show, including the drive over and back, the excellent location, the pleasant weather, how the show was run, and especially spending time with friends and making a few new ones, too. I will greatly look forward to returning next year to the Kent Island Cruisers Halloween Car Show #32!
FORD RACING PHOTOS / COURTESY RICK MITCHELL
