Organizers of the Ride into History’s Cruise ‘n’ Concert in Fort Langley are hoping donors will help them recover from the wet weather that dampened attendance at the fundraiser for the The Salvation Army Gateway of Hope.
Despite the downpour, more than 200 concert goers came and stood under tents and umbrellas on Friday, July 24 to watch Dave Anthony, The Seabillys and Randy ‘Elvis’ Friskie perform.
Hunger Management Food Truck kept up with the orders coming in as the Fort Langley Lions served coffee to warm up attendees.
All four presenting credit union sponsors; Aldergrove Financial Group, Envision Financial, G&F Financial Group and Prospera Credit Union attended with free giveaways, contest draws and more for the concert guests.
But attendance was down and so were donations compared to 2014, when the Cruise ‘n’ Concert brought in just under $3,000 worth of donations.
“Our charity, The Salvation Army Gateway of Hope, is going to miss that income,” said Troy Gaglardi, Ride into History co-chair.
“We know this event would have been even larger this year had there been better weather.”
Ride into History is asking those that might have come out to the event, if the weather were brighter, to consider directly donating to Gateway of Hope in Langley either in person, by mail or phone in order to make up for some of the lost income.
“In the end it’s not a loss for us but for Gateway of Hope, as this event aims to support the funding of many of its programs and services” said Gaglardi.
The ride and dinner banquet went forward as planned under better weather conditions the following day.
Over 110 motorcycles registered for the charity ride which started at the Fort Langley National Historic Site and took them as far as Sasquatch Provincial Park in Harrison.
Motorcyclists returned to Gateway of Hope in Langley where they enjoyed a dinner catered by Milestones Langley.
“Best year yet,” said Steve Prost, member of the Greater Vancouver Motorcycle Club who joined in on the festivities.
Next year’s Ride into History dates are July 22 and 23.