Aug. 9—POTTSVILLE — Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke in "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV series, will attend The Great Pottsville Car Show on Saturday, along with a replica of the General Lee car that was used in the show.

Formerly called The Great Pottsville Cruise and Car Show, the name has been changed .

"We know the challenges of bringing the cruise back, so we went to car show," Pottsville Mayor Dave Clews, who is a co-chair of the event committee, said Tuesday at the Humane Fire Company, which is in charge of the festivities.

Crowd size, placement of vehicles and required approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation are among the reasons the cruise is no longer, Clews said.

Laurel Boulevard will be closed to traffic from Second to Seventh streets starting around 9 a.m., organizers said.

"It's a great fundraiser for the fire company," said Joe Spotts, fire company president.

Held from noon to 5 p.m. at the Humane Fire Company, 200 Humane Ave., and on Laurel Boulevard, the event will allow attendees to meet Wopat, who is also a singer, and see the General Lee replica, which is owned by Jeffrey Bowers, a Minersville police sergeant.

Food and drink will also be for sale.

"I've been a 'Dukes of Hazzard' fan since I was a little kid," Bowers said Tuesday.

The show originally ran from 1979 to 1985 on CBS.

Bowers bought the car March 2 from a classic car dealer in New Jersey. The asking price was $110,000, although he said he paid less than that but declined to say how much.

"It is a true and accurate replica of the TV show," he said of the car, which was built in 2015 by two brothers in North Carolina.

In May, Bowers met Wopat at Cooter's Place in Luray, Virginia, a museum and a replica of the character Cooter's garage from the show. Bowers thought it would be cool to meet Wopat, having met other actors from the TV series.

The cost for Wopat to attend the event were covered by sponsors in the county, Bowers said.

The two exchanged information and offered to help each other if the chance arose.

Wopat, 71, who lives in New York and New Jersey, said in a phone interview Wednesday that he is looking forward to visiting Pottsville.

He arrives Friday and will stay until Sunday.

"Come by and see me," he said.

Wopat will sign autographs and car parts for a fee. He will also be at Big Diamond Speedway in Forestville from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday for a meet-and-greet event and to sing the national anthem at 7:45 p.m.

Afterward, Wopat might kick up some dust on the Big Diamond track, Bowers said.

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