For another year, Aldergrove residents and business owners can expect crowds of 50,000-plus to pack into the Fraser Highway strip between 264th and 272nd Streets on Saturday, Sept. 9.
The annual Langley Good Times Cruise-In charity car show, running for more than 20 years, is being welcomed back by local businesses.
Jodi Steeves, president of the Aldergrove Business Association (ABA), said data collected from a survey of shop owners in previous years indicated the car show is good for business.
“The majority of businesses want to see it again… it does offer great marketing exposure that otherwise would not exist,” she explained.
In 2017 – the Cruise-In’s first year in Aldergrove – a Langley Township survey estimated $311,000 in net improvements for local businesses from the event.
Due to the road closures required for the Cruise-In, the way business is done during the weekend may need to change to maximize sales, Steeves suggested.
“Such as offering grab-and-go food items or setting up a table out front of your business to make it easy for the consumer to see what you are offering. Creating special offers that are Cruise-In related may be beneficial to draw crowds,” she said.
Once the event site plan is finalized, Steeves and other members of ABA will hand site maps out to the affected local businesses between Sept. 1 and 8, as well as emailing digital copies.
“It will be helpful for them to know where parking is, bathrooms, and first aid, in order to direct Cruise-In guests to their desired locations,” she added.
Personally, Steeves will be in the marketplace this year beside a Slingshot for the day.
“Come down and enter the draw,” she said. “My dog, Skylar, will be there in racing gear to greet crowds, staying cool under the tent.”
The ABA is encouraging businesses to sell items directly related to the business so Cruise-In guests think of it the next time they visit Aldergrove.
She also suggests businesses decorate storefronts in car-related themes and tidy up the space to make an impression on all those visitors.
Last year’s event was a “hit,” Steeves said, calling Cruise-In a perfect platform to showcase what Aldergrove has to offer.
In previous years, the show has meant a boost of more than $300,000 in revenue for local businesses.
While public will be encouraged to park at one of the designated lots at Aldergrove Community Secondary, St. Dunstan Anglican Church, and possibly Betty Gilbert Elementary (each pay by donation) and shuttle into the show, parking passes will be given to downtown merchants for access to their businesses (more details, page B11).
The popular In-N-Out Burgers start selling at 7:30 a.m. the day of and the American burger chain donates all food and souvenir sales back to Cruise-In (more details, page B9).
Admission to the car show is free, but donations are encouraged as proceeds go to benefit local charities.
The Langley Good Times Cruise-In is a not-for-profit run by volunteers, and all proceeds from the show, including food and drink sales, go towards the show’s charities of choice.
And for real car enthusiast, Sunday, Sept. 10, promises something more.
The Cruise-In swap meet and car corral at Aldergrove Community Secondary will boasts an acre of custom and collector cars and parts to restore them, and a selection of older items like signs, radios, telephones, and pop machines (more details, page B22).
RELATED: Aldergrove car show flooded with requests for non-existent In-N-Out Burger tickets
READ MORE: New displays, music, cars for this year’s Langley Good Times Cruise-In
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