The Seaside Cruizers are more than just a car club — they’re a service club.
The Cruizers, who host the annual three-day, four-event Father’s Day Weekend car show, donated $51,850 to 23 different benefactors in Parksville and Qualicum Beach this year.
The donations came from a “very successful” 2018 Father’s Day Weekend, said Seaside Cruizers president Kevin Varey.
Related: Classic cars take over Parksville Qualicum Beach for Father’s Day weekend
Related: Video: Seaside Cruizers Show and Shine in Parksville Qualicum Beach
Each year, the Cruizers host four events focused on cars and family over Father’s Day weekend.
On Friday, a free Cruise Night takes place around Parksville Qualicum Beach. This year, the cruise saw more than 450 participants. On Saturday, a poker run ensues during the day before a family-friendly street dance takes over downtown Qualicum Beach with a live band in the evening.
Sunday is the main event with a Father’s Day Show and Shine car show in downtown Qualicum Beach. This year the show saw an excess of 625 pre-registered cars from all over Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. Varey said it has been estimated that close to 25,000 spectators will attend the Sunday car show.
All the events serve two purposes; to provide locals and tourists with a top-notch car show and events and to raise money for local charities and organizations.
“What we are as Seaside Cruizers is we want to raise as much money to be able to give away as much money as possible,” Varey said. “For instance, the last four years the club has grown substantially… four years ago we gave away $8,400 and this year we gave away $51,850 which is the most the Seaside Cruizers has ever given away.”
Varey describes the club as “car guys who are really interested in service work.”
Started 25 years ago by a group of a half-dozen locals, the Cruizers has grown to a 145-member club that sees car enthusiasts come from all over B.C., Alberta, Washington State and even Arizona to Parksville Qualicum Beach to take part in the three-day weekend.
“We don’t know exactly what the figure is, but we bring in a lot of money to Parksville and Qualicum Beach that weekend,” Varey said. “We’ve had people tell us who own stores in downtown Qualicum Beach that their biggest single day of sales, including Christmas, is our Sunday of our car show.”
He said hotels and restaurants also see a lot of action that weekend.
“We’re bolstering the economy as much as we can,” Varey said.
Helping make the busy weekend possible, Varey said, is the many volunteers and sponsors.
This year, the Cruizers had sponsorship from 43 organizations and had about 320 jobs that needed to be filled for the weekend.
“We as a car club couldn’t do it without the support of some major contributors,” Varey said. “Without their help and man or woman power we couldn’t pull it off, it’s gotten too big.”
Varey said the car show’s reputation has spread throughout B.C. and beyond.
“I was in Nelson recently for a car show and people there were saying ‘oh the Seaside Cruizers, you guys put on an unbelievable show.’ We have built a reputation now as being a top show in B.C.,” he said.
The next Seaside Cruizers Father’s Day weekend is June 14-16, 2019.