HOTRODS & CLASSICS

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Peach City Beach Cruise 2002 Review
by Jim & Elinore Lyons (Associate Reporters)

The Peach City Beach Cruise got off to a great start on Friday evening.  You could not have found a more pleasant setting at
 Skaha Lake, on the grass, under the tall trees, on the lake, wow.   The live Elvis tribute  with the shimmering lake in the
 background really put you in a relaxing mood as the day turned to night.  The locals, as well as the participants, where well 
 entertained with a great show of gorgeous cars and great gyrations. 

We must comment, however on the bar-b-que.  There appeared to be a lot of volunteers to handle the meal, but they were totally unprepared for the crowd.  The one small grill made for a long line up and a many impatient participants (up to 3/4 of an hour for some).  Unfortunately, the food was definitely NOT worth waiting for (hamburger patty, bun, runny potato salad, runny macaroni salad and a soda pop).  Come on guys, if you are going to advertise a bar-b-que and charge for it, give us something!  

Saturday morning turned out to be a typical gorgeous day in the valley and cruising to  Lakeshore Drive got us all excited in anticipation of cool cars in the warm Okanagan sun.  How could you not rave at this fantastic setting?  Again, lots of volunteers who were very willing to help in any way they could.  We really enjoyed the market on Main street as well as the vendors booths in Gyro park.  Next came the cruise to Osoyoos, always a beautiful and scenic trip, however, it started way too late in the day and was way too long.  You only hoped there was something neat at the end of the line up for the "Photo op" .....wrong.  Heat....Hot....Hot....40 degrees, I think. 

 Osoyoos Lake with it's many cottages and great beach was a treat to see though.   We did find some added interest in the suggested side trip which led us past interesting vineyards and long abandoned buildings (see "photo galleries" on this sight). By the time we got back from the cruise, had a quick dunk in the lake,  we had to run to get to the Bar-b-que before it was done. 

We had hoped for a better meal...wrong.  It consisted of runny chipped beef on a bun with the same salads and soda pops as the night before....ugh!   Oh, We forgot to mention the breakfasts (included in your all inclusive registration).  Pancakes, tiny sausages (someone said they resembled briquettes),  coffee and Tang.....come on guys!! yuk .   I can not comment on the dance part as no one I know attended.  

The evening was warm, I guess no one wanted to be inside an arena.  The burn outs were entertaining,  albeit dangerous.  The local paper reported that the police were very upset about the burnout's and that they left a lot of black marks on the roadway in front of the S.S. Sicamous.  These burnout's went on for a long time with no interference from the police, in fact, a police car did cruise by and was encouraged to "light em up" which just got a smile
from the lady officer.  The authorities decided to shut it down (the burnout's) at about 11:00 each evening and issued a few tickets to some unwise "bravado individuals" (not our words..check the local papers). 

The awards should have been organized by people who have been there and done that before.  We  would not like to take away from the fact that it takes a lot of work and a lot of people, and we mean a lot, to conceptualize, organize and pull off an event such as this, however, it was very clear that this part was not well done.  There where far too many classes,  winners were not advised in advance of the presentations and the awards presentations were far too long and confused.   When you have to play music in between the presentations and when most of the audience disappears before the end, must tell you something.  Get some competent help!

OK, We  know there is a lot of bitching here, but I hope it will improve as it is an ideal setting and a great town with very well meaning people, but if you are going to charge $65.00 for this event you must give us value.  

We know a number of people who brought their cars, stayed in motels on the beach, choose not to pay the entrance fees, patronized the local restaurants, local businesses and still had a great time with great meals.  I think we will do that next year. 

Jim & Elinore Lyons

1. Timing of event - great.
2. Location - fantastic.
3. Cost - too expensive.
4. Food - for breakfasts and dinners, very poor, we were expecting much more for the registration price...didn't want to miss a meal because we had "paid" for it.
5. Cruise - not interesting - too far - nothing to reward you at the end.
6. Entertainment - good - music Friday night was great and the D J for the show and shine was easy to listen to and kept the tunes and volume just right.
7. Dance - passed on the dance as it was away from the main event and not close to walk to.
8. Awards - were exhaustingly long - for too many categories. Most entrants would have had more enjoyment from sponsor donated door prizes.
9. Market - could have been enlarged for the benefit of local merchants.
10. General - not enough free time between events to enjoy and browse the City's businesses.

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