Seaside Downtown Development Association's annual Wheels and Waves Car Show highlights cars made in 1974 or earlier. On average, about 300 cars are entered in the show and displayed for the public to view during the Show and Shine, which takes place Friday and Saturday.

A wide and varied collection of show-quality muscle cars and hot rods made in 1974 or earlier will fill the streets of Seaside from Thursday, Sept. 6, through Sunday, Sept. 9, during the Wheels and Waves Car Show, put on by the Seaside Downtown Development Association.

The organization is gearing up for this year’s annual event — which brings in participants and approximately 300 vehicles from across the Northwest — but is evaluating the shape and form of the car show for future years.

“A lot of the work was already done for this year, and we’re making sure this year gets completed,” said Keith Chandler, the chair of the Association’s car show committee.

The event begins Thursday with registration and the Senior Cruise, during which the cars are paraded from the Seaside Outlet Mall to the various senior living facilities in town. The cruise concludes at Avamere at Seaside, where a barbecue for registered car participants will be held.

The public can view the vehicles downtown, along Broadway and side streets, during the Show and Shine from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Broadway to the Turnaround will be closed to automobiles and open for foot traffic. Another crowd favorite is the Downtown Cruise, scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday.

The downtown and beach-side setting makes Seaside’s car show popular for car owners and the spectators who come to enjoy them, Chandler said.

“Ours is set to where we don’t have vendors, but we have all the restaurants and shops,” he said. “It’s a better setting for the people who come to see the cars. They have a lot more choices on what to do, besides viewing the cars.”

The Slow Drag competition, introduced last year and advertised for this year, may not take place on Sunday, as the construction at the Seaside Civic & Convention Center has changed the environment along North Edgewood Street, according to Chandler. The event wraps up with the awards ceremony at noon Sunday.

The Development Association is mulling over the ways the organization can support and be involved in the car show in the future. The annual car shows — Wheels and Waves in September, Muscle and Chrome in June — take “a lot more time than we can afford,” Chandler said.

Without a promoter, as Seaside’s car shows have had in years past, the administrative burden strains the organization, which recently rearranged its staff and eliminated the executive director position.

The goal going forward is to have one car show in the fall but adjust the criteria for the year the vehicles were made to encompass more muscle cars.

“Being a four-day event made it a lot more work than most car shows are,” Chandler said about Wheels and Waves. “If it stays, it’s going to change significantly. It will probably drop down to a two-day event, if someone is going to take it on, because they won’t have the same mission as the SDDA. Their mission will be to put on a car show, not to get people to stay in town for four days.”

However, Chandler added, no one wants to see the car show disappear, as it’s still well-attended and enjoyed.

“SDDA will do whatever they can to help to whomever wants to grab the baton and go forward,” he said.

For a list of events and times for the public and other information, visit SDDA’s Facebook page or call 503-717-1914.