Classic car enthusiasts get ready to rev your engines.

Once a month this summer, the Southern Minnesota Old Car Company, in conjunction with the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau, will host a “Monthly Blast from the Past” car cruise on Broadway Avenue.

The first cruise, scheduled for June 5, will begin at 6:30 p.m. on South Broadway Avenue and will go until about 8:30 p.m. In case of rain, the event will be held the following day.

Don Blake, a member of the Old Car Company, said there have been car clubs in Albert Lea dating back to the 1950s. Particularly in the ’60s, he recalled, people would cruise up and down Broadway Avenue and through the downtown area.

“Back then, it was our opportunity to get out and see what people are up to, to use our cars,” Blake said. “It was kind of an every Friday and Saturday event to get your car out and cruise the downtown area and around the lake and so forth.”

The members of the Old Car Company decided they wanted to resurrect that, he said, and set forth to specify one day a month during the summer to let people bring out their classic cars for a cruise.

The group is inviting other area classic car groups to join in as well. The Southeastern Minnesota Old Car Company has members in Albert Lea, Austin, Mankato and even northern Iowa.

Participants are asked to meet at the former Red Owl building on Broadway Avenue. They will cruise up Broadway Avenue toward Fountain Street and then will make a loop around and come back down.

Organizers are calling the event “just good, old-fashioned fun cruising Broadway.”

No entry fees or registration are necessary, and no awards will be given out.

“There’s no structure to it other than getting together and having a good time,” Blake said.

Additional cruises are scheduled for July 10, Aug. 7 and Sept. 4, all on Fridays. The rain-out dates will be the following days.

Each night after the cruises, participants are invited to mingle at a specified area restaurant for more fun.

On June 5, the location will be the Green Mill Restaurant & Bar. Other locations have not yet been determined.

Blake said car shows and cruises tend to bring out large crowds, and he hopes these summer cruises will be just as successful.

“There are other cities in Minnesota that do the same things and have huge turnouts,” he said.

It will be an opportunity to host something unique in Albert Lea, he said.