Kruise Nite Returns at New Location

Kruise Nite may not be on Main St. this summer, but that doesn’t mean Freehold residents won’t get their fill of classic cars. Freehold Elks Lodge #1454 held its own Kruise Nite in the lodge’s parking lot on Thursday, May 26.

The informal event featured doo-wop music, hot dogs and hamburgers, beverages, and, of course, classic cars, with proceeds going to the Army of Hope. The Army of Hope is a charitable foundation started by the Elks that supports families of soldiers serving overseas, according to Richard Hamilton, a past exulted ruler of Freehold Elks Lodge #1454 and the New Jersey Region 1 chairman of the Army of Hope.

“We’ve been doing something for veterans since the beginning of Kruise Nite,” Hamilton said. Funds are raised through donations and selling food, he noted.

Patricia Hamilton of the Freehold Elks Lodge said the organization had already been planning for summer Kruise Nites when they heard Downtown Freehold, the area business partnership, would replace the event with summer concert series.

“Then we saw the Facebook [Save Freehold Kruise Night] and said why don’t you come here and hold it at the lodge,” Patricia Hamilton said. She was impressed with the turnout for the Elks’ first Kruise Nite, which had been put together quickly and was not widely promoted.

Freehold area Racers Club founder Al Michendelfer said he had been attending Kruise Nites since it started over 20 years and was heartbroken when it was canceled. He was happy to see the event return in its new location.

“I love this,” Michendelfer said. “It’s also going to help the lodge and help the vets.”

The Freehold Elks will hold the next Kruise Nite on Thursday, June 30.