Early Saturday morning in Downtown Pilot Point was marked by the grumblings of vintage cruisers.
By 10 a.m., the Pilot Point Square was beaming with life and encircled with cars glistening in the high sun.
“It’s become a tradition,” said Debbie Edwards, co-organizer of Chrome Fest and wife of Pastor Dwayne Edwards of Grace Point Church of the Nazarene. “It brings people together who might otherwise be doing their own thing.”
The event, originally scheduled for Labor Day but postponed due to weather, returned Saturday for its 10th anniversary in Pilot Point.
The Edwards have run Chrome Fest since its inception, and Debbie said the goal has always been about community. “We like to have the guys come out, and we want an event for the community where people can gather,” she said.
This year, organizers rolled out a few new attractions, including more activities for children and a tug-of-war match that pitted the Pilot Point High School football team against Pilot Point’s first responders.
The Edwards family first started Chrome Fest when they lived in Southern California, later bringing it with them to Pilot Point._ As Chrome Fest continues to grow, the heart of the event remains the same—creating a space where people can gather, share stories and celebrate the cars, and community, that bring them together.
Jim Bussell has been participating in Chrome Fest for about six years.
He said he first got into working on cars about 13 years ago to spend time with his kids, and what started small eventually became a family tradition.
Over the years, the garage turned into more than just a place to fix up old engines.
“After the loss of my oldest son, working on cars became a source of connection and healing for [my kids and I],” Bussell said. “It keeps us close.”
On Saturday, he brought out his teal 1966 Corvette, a car he affectionately calls his “baby.”
For him, it’s more than just a car._ “That car means more because of the memories we’ve built around it,” he said.
Greg Thompson and Wayne Purser, two longtime friends, leaned back in lawn chairs beside their cars, holding a steady circle of curious onlookers.
Both have been at Chrome Fest since the very beginning, and what keeps them coming back is the camaraderie.
“A lot of people come up and tell us they wish they had these cars back in their high school or college days,” Purser said, nodding toward the crowd.
That sense of nostalgia is what draws Rick and Deborah Brad back year after year.
The couple marked their fourth year at Chrome Fest.
What keeps them coming back, they said, is the people as much as the cars.
Rick considers himself more of a dreamer than a collector, and he loves seeing the variety of vehicles and the passion that goes into restoring them.
Deborah emphasized that for her, the stories behind the cars stand out the most.
“How they got the car, what they did to the car— it’s really neat,” she said.

Theo Johnson/The Post-Signal