King of the Road: annual cruise on Baker Street revs up
By Timothy Schafer
Call it show and tell for adults, the ninth annual Queen City Cruise is on this weekend.
As the biggest Nelson-hosted event of the year, over 10,000 people will flock down to Baker Street this Saturday to check out hundreds of vintage vehicles, mechanical muscle and antique automobiles.
It will be wall to wall people and horsepower for five blocks with automobiles from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Vancouver Island come to compete for favour and fancy in 44 categories in the open show.
The show has grown significantly since it first started and now attracts a wide range of audience — a wide ranging audience from the western part of the continent — said Road Kings car club president, Mike Keegan.
“A lot of (the popularity) has to do with the city and the setting it is in,” he said. “Baker Street is a pretty popular setting all by itself, and then you add in a bunch of classic cars and hot rods and antique automobiles and the formula works even better.”
With 108 members in the club, there is no shortage of local representation in the over 500 vehicles typically in the show. The Road Kings club originally started in the early 1960s, lasted four years, then faded away. But when a few car aficionados got together and decided to start it up and put on a car show, the spark turned into a fire.
“It’s a bit of a contagious fever,” Keegan said. “In the nine years since we started back up, people that never had a car now do and are joining the club.
Show and tell begins
The event begins on Friday, Sept. 9 with 2 p.m. early registration at Bogustown Pub in lower Fairview.
The car parade starts at Nelson Big Orange Bridge at 6 p.m., and goes right through downtown. Again, there is no burn out planned for this year.
On Saturday morning cars are ready for show at 9 a.m., and are on display right through to 3:30 p.m. Then at 4:30 p.m. they fire up and head out on a free poker run out to the North Shore, ending at Mountain Lakes Senior Home for the final card.
“That was interesting to see last year … they get a big charge out of that,” Keegan said about ending at the seniors home. “They can’t get down to see the show so we bring it up there.”
Later that day there is a roof top dance under the stars on the top of the City’s parkade. The early show at 7:30 p.m. begins with Roxy then the headliners, the Timebenders, take the stage at 9 p.m.
Local support
The businesses in Nelson have been very supportive of the event, said Keegan, with donations and trophies and generally getting behind the show.
This year there will be a Poker Walk, with 14 businesses on Baker Street supporting the walk. Pick up a form from the Road Kings table and visit the businesses, with the winner of best poker hand taking home $500. There are two walks.
“Those businesses always say they have a record day on that day. It’s the best business they do,” Keegan said.
KIS free ride
Still looking for a way home from the Saturday night dance?
Kootenay Insurance Services has one for you. Nicknamed the KIS free ride, it’s a free taxi ride offered from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.
The free ride ticket is the bottom portion of the dance ticket, giving the holder a free taxi ride anywhere within three miles in the city.
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