PILOT MOUNTAIN — For the first time in its five-year history, downtown Pilot Mountain’s increasingly successful cruise-in series was expanded to a second night last weekend. And while Friday evening did manage to bring out a fair number of classic car owners and enthusiasts, it also served to set the stage for Saturday. And Saturday proved to be the event’s biggest day yet.

Featuring a local band and a later start, Friday’s event drew a much smaller crowd than Saturday events. But event organizers from the sponsoring Mount Pilot NOW group were still pleased by the evening’s modest success, especially when viewed as a predecessor for Saturday.

“It really did better than I expected,” noted group member Jerry Venable, a primary cruise-in organizer. “We knew there were high school football games going on and the Hillsville Flea Market had started. Still, it was good.”

But, as Mount Pilot NOW Treasurer Janie Sheppard pointed out, perhaps the biggest advantage of the extended program was in attracting visitors to come into town for the weekend. And on Saturday, those dividends could easily be seen.

“On Saturday,” Sheppard said, “we saw more people come in than we’d ever seen before. We saw families with babies and we saw people in their 80s and older and all were having a good time. What a great family event. It was wonderful to be able to look down the street and see it so alive.”

The massive crowd did produce lots of waiting but most didn’t seem to mind. Traffic on Main Street was at a crawl throughout the evening, but drivers and spectators appeared to enjoy each pause, often revving a motor to show its power or simply sharing a conversation between a driver and an admiring pedestrian.

The lines of vehicles soon spilled over onto Key Street where drivers patiently waited their turn to enter Main Street. Patience was also required in restaurants and at vendors as long lines were often seen waiting. For most, however, the time seemed to be enjoyable as impromptu gatherings of old and new friends formed at random.

“People were finding a place to sit and talk,” Sheppard said, “and everyone was having a great time. It’s a great event with a wonderful atmosphere.”

Sheppard attempted to capture that atmosphere by sharing an encounter she’d had with two Stokes County couples who had been among the hundreds enjoying the music of Jim Quick and Coastline.

“After it was over and the band was packing up,” she remembered, “they continued to sit. When I asked why, they told me it had been so wonderful that they hated to leave. Both couples said it was an awesome evening and one said this was their first cruise-in but it certainly wouldn’t be their last.

“It’s hard not to see what this is doing for the people, for our merchants and our town,” Sheppard continued. “Our goal was to bring people to Pilot Mountain, to show them what a special place we have here and to let them enjoy some of what we get to enjoy every day. And we’ve certainly been able to do that.”

“It definitely is growing,” noted Mitchell Smith, co-owner of Pick-A-Tique Antiques. “This was the biggest yet and there was a lot more people coming in and passing through the shop. By 12:30 Saturday afternoon, the streets were full.

“For us,” he said, “these have been a big help. It gets the word out about us. And all month long, people will be coming in and saying, ‘I saw this at the cruise-in and I’ve come back to get it.’”

Sheppard also noted the contributions of the East Surry cheerleaders, who spent a busy evening selling raffle tickets and T-shirts and doing stunts.

“But they were having fun, too,” she noted. “We all were. Everyone was.”