This is one in a series of special Langley Advance Times stories about what to expect at this year鈥檚 Langley Good Times Cruise-In, happening Saturday, Sept. 7, in Aldergrove. You can also check out this series in our special keepsake edition hitting the streets on Wednesday and available in limited quantity at the car show.
With less than a week away from the 25th annual Langley Good Times Cruise-In, more than 500 car owners have booked their spots for the charity car show taking place in downtown Aldergrove on Saturday, Sept. 7.
There鈥檚 a lot of moving parts when organizing an event the magnitude of Langley Good Times Cruise-In.
It literally attracts tens of thousands of spectators, plus more than a thousand custom, classic, and vintage car owners for a one-day annual charity car show on the downtown streets of Aldergrove.
A team of volunteers has been working for months organizing car registrations, arranging food vendors, lining up entertainment, recruiting volunteers, ordering branded Cruise-In merchandise, coordinating the Sunday swap meet and car corral, and promoting the show 鈥� overall.
Last year's show saw about 1,400 cars and more than 80,000 spectators attend the show, estimate president Marty Brown.
Given the size of the car show, the location and the support, Brown felt those were great numbers to achieve for an all volunteer-run car show.
"I certainly saw a lot of people that arrived in their show car with their families, which was really nice to see," he said.
Brown anticipates up to 900 cars for this year's show, and up to at least 60,000 spectators.
And once again, several car clubs will have a strong showing along the main drag.
The live entertainment on three different stages, numerous food trucks, and a large marketplace turn this into a true family-oriented event.
Many popular features of the annual car show will return, confirmed Brown, including In-N-Out Burger, the return of hot rod builder Jimmy Shine to present his award, an RC car display, live entertainment on three stages, and in excess of 1,500 classics, hot rods and custom vehicles.
But to commemorate the 25th car show, Cruise-In directors have been collecting the classic posters of previous years to put together in a collage on a banner to sell the day of the show.
"It's a nice bit of memorabilia that captures all the posters. There will be multiple banners for sale," Brown said.
The annual Cruise-In began in 1997, but the posters started two years later in 1999.
"It (shows) quite an evolution of different artists over the years."
This year, registration is online through the website, which allows for what he calls "simple and easy" express entry, Brown explained.
All funds raised at Cruise-In are donated to several local charities. Last year was more than $80,000 raised, Brown said.
This year, there are three primary charities the show is supporting (Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association, Hope After Stroke, and the Langley and Aldergrove Rotary Starfish programs) this year, as well as another 20 funded to a lesser degree, Brown explained.
"I really believe Cruise-In is effective. It really is amazing what it does for the community," he said.
"It's the largest fundraising car show in Western Canada, and we support local charities鈥� We all know someone who has benefitted directly from one of them."
The Cruise-In car show takes place along Fraser Highway between 264 and 272 Streets in downtown Aldergrove on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Spectators are invited to attend as early as 8:30 a.m. The show wraps up at about 4 p.m.
