Car enthusiasts from all over the Midwest will sweep into Albert Lea this weekend for the Low Bucks Car Club’s 23rd annual Eddie Cochran Weekend.

With events planned for the evening on Friday and throughout the day on Saturday, the weekend will give automobile enthusiasts the opportunity to take part in something fun, while raising money for Eddie Cochran Memorial Scholarships, too, said Kraig Schuhmacher, president of Low Bucks Car Club.

The weekend began 23 years ago with just a car show, but has since developed to include a drive-in movie, a breakfast and a cruise, among several other events, Schuhmacher said.

On Friday will be a cruise-in social in front of Country Inn & Suites on Main Street from 6 to 9 p.m. Trophies will be given in the categories of “Oldie but Goodie,” “People’s Choice” and “Long Distance.”

After the cruise-in social there will be a free drive-in movie of Disney’s “Cars” at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds.

“We try and make it very kid-friendly because a lot of parents and grandparents bring the younger generation out there to show what a drive-in theater is,” Schuhmacher said.

On Saturday, events start with the Crossroads Community Hospice Walk/Run at 7:30 a.m. from the fairgrounds. A breakfast of Denny Brue’s pancakes will be served from 8 to 11 a.m. at the Fairlane Building.

Registration for the Low Bucks Car Show and Swap goes from 8 a.m. to noon, with showtime from noon to 4 p.m. There is $10 registration fee for show cars and a $2 admission charge for members of the public.

There are 40 classes in the show, and first and second places will be given in each class.

Special trophies will be awarded at 3:30 p.m. for Best GM, Best Ford, Best Chevy, Best of Show, Best Mopar, Best Restoration, Club Participation and Clubs Choice. The grand prize is a Lincoln 135T Wire Feed Welder.

Food will be available throughout the day, with vendors and swappers parking on the blacktop.

The lineup and social for the 26-mile cruise will go from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds, with the cruise starting at 6:30 p.m.

Schuhmacher said there is a slightly different cruise route this year because of the Jugland Dam Bridge being out. The cruise is rerouted from U.S. Highway 65 to Freeborn County Road 84, where cars will drive east. Then because Glenville Days is also the same weekend as Eddie Cochran Weekend, the cruise will also go through a street in Glenville.

“We’re always excited about the cruise,” Schuhmacher said. “That’s probably the biggest public event of the whole weekend.”

The cruise will end at the North Broadway Avenue parking lot for a free street dance from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The dance features band Incognito, from the Rochester area, which will be playing music with a ’50s sound, he said.

Also corresponding with the weekend will be the Eddie Cochran and Marion Ross exhibits at the Freeborn County Historical Society from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Schuhmacher said in the past there’s been a good group of cars from South Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois and the Twin Cities.

He said he wants the public to know that the main reason for hosting the weekend is to raise funds for the Eddie Cochran Memorial Scholarships. The club saves enough money to present the show the following year and then offers up to $2,500 in scholarships to Freeborn County area seniors.

He thanked the weekend’s sponsors for also helping to make the events possible.

Eddie Cochran was born Oct. 3, 1938, in Albert Lea. In 1956 he went from country musician to rock ’n’ roller with the song “Sitting on the Balcony,” that became his first smash hit in 1957, with more than one million copies sold.

Some of his other hits included “Summertime Blues,” “C’mon Everybody,” “Somethin’ Else,” and “Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie.”

He died in 1960 when the cab taking him to Heathrow Airport crashed.