COOLANGATTA was awash with people from far and wide as the Cooly Rocks On street parade began this morning on marine parade.

Dark clouds surrounded the southern Gold Coast but held their rain until after the event, only briefly showering on and off.

A big turnout of several thousand watched on as cars and floats made their way from Kirra to Greenmount, a fantastic sight after the last two years of unwelcome rain at the time of the street parade.

Collectable cars, old school rockers, roller derby girls and little people in little cars were just a few of the attractions rolling through with Coolangatta beach as a backdrop.

From the famous Kirra groyne south to Rainbow Bay punters were treated to a great variety of specialty outlets, cars on display and food stalls in the park.

After the parade wrapped up, the big crowd got down to business, mingling and stopping to chat to owners of the magnificent four-wheeled beasts of yesteryear.

Kids had an abundance of choice when it came to rides and activities, from the big Ferris wheel and dodgem cars to the big slippery dip.

So with such a great start to the main weekend, let's hope the rain stays away for the remainder of the weekend.

Isolated showers are predicted for Sunday and Monday, but should not affect proceedings too much.