With a couple weeks to go, this year’s Peach City Beach Cruise already has more cars than last year’s record event.
Organizer Wayne Wood said over 800 cars have been entered into the 18th edition of the annual car show, which tops last year’s number of about 760 cars. And there’s still time for car lovers to squeeze their entry in, but the car count stops at 850 when the show will run out of room.
And with each car typically bringing two people, the city will be seeing a hefty load of car lovers converging in Penticton.
The show starts on Friday, June 22 with more dispersed events in the Penticton region.
“They go on wine tours that we are organizing, they go on winding-road tours, there’s a ladies’ walk-and-shop and of course there’s the parade that goes down Main Street, that pulls out of Skaha Lake at 5:30 p.m.,” Wood said, adding that is then followed by a car show along the Okanagan Lake strip.
“So Friday, at first it’s split up and all over the place, and then it comes back together and ends up on Lakeshore (Drive). Then Saturday is more of a traditional car show. That’s a day that you can hardly walk down Lakeshore Drive in the afternoon.”
But Wood said it’s not a bad kind of busy, with cars of all types and from all locations being showcased along the beach.
“They’re from all over the place. They’re from Texas and Arizona and Oregon and California. And in Canada, they’re of course from Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba,” Wood said.
“It’s one of those shows that car guys and girls — it’s one of the ones on the list that you’ve got to go to at least once.”
While most car shows are in parking lots or fields, Wood said the Peach City Beach Cruise has the benefit of location.
“We have a beautiful, spectacular backdrop. You’re either along the lake, looking out on the lake, or you’re out on the parks that are really close to the lake. So the whole atmosphere is just gorgeous that way,” Wood said. “And we bring in top-of-the-line entertainers.”
Among those entertainers, this year the event will have Dan Hare Centrefield, a tribute act to Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty. Among the classics you can expect to hear, Fortunate Son, Looking Out My Backdoor and Proud Mary will be blasting in Penticton.
And all of that is at a pretty easy price — $3 for the weekend or free for entrants, much of which goes to the B.C. Children’s Hospital.