A picture from last year's car show during the Sugarbeet Festival in Chinook.
As the summer heats up, the organizers of the Blaine County Cruise invite everyone out this weekend to soak up some sun, see some Blaine County sights and to support the communities that make up Blaine County.
“It’s a one-day cruise from Chinook to Turner, staying in Blaine County with multiple stops in between, ” Cruise organizer Nathan Skoyen said. “More than anything, it’s just about getting people out and enjoying the weather.”
Registration for Saturday’s cruise begins tomorrow at the Blaine County Fairgrounds at 6 p. m. and is open until 10 p. m., when a free drive-in movie, "Catch Me If You Can," will be shown at the fairgrounds.
The following morning, from 7 to 9, the 4-H is hosting a breakfast at the Chuckwagon.
From there, according to Skoyen, drivers will meet at the Blaine County Fairgrounds to set out on the cruise by 10 a. m.
The day is filled with games as well as stops in Zurich, then Turner for lunch, and back through Hogeland and Harlem on the way back to Chinook.
After the cruising is done around 4 p. m., organizer Mike Copenhaver said cruise drivers will have time to wash their cars before an evening car show and Eagles-sponsored barbecue at the fairgrounds.
Then another complimentary movie, "Deuce of Spades," will be shown at the fairgrounds around sundown.
At both movies, the FFA will be selling concessions and Holden’s Hot Wheels will be running the FM-transmitted film audio.
Skoyen said that they wanted to involve the community and organizations whenever they could.
“We can help out 4-H and some of the other clubs, ” Skoyen said. “Helping the kids will always be on the top of our priority list. ”
Anyone can attend the movies, the car show and barbecue for free.
Registering for the cruise’s day full of events costs $30 a car, with $15 per additional car within one family. Registration allows participation in all of the games, which at the end of the day will earn the winner a $1,000 cash prize.
Both movie nights will have other prizes, from the raffling of donated prizes like a barbecuer to 50-50 drawings.
Aside from providing an opportunity for 4-H, FFA and the Eagles clubs to raise some money with their food and concessions sales, organizers said they wanted to start the cruise as a more active kind of car show.
“Car shows are fun, but you can only do so much, ” Skoyen said. “It can get boring after the first hour. We wanted to do something that would be fun for everyone, to get everyone involved in. It’s kind of our way to have a car without sitting around. ”
He also said that, unlike most car shows, the cruise is not just for classic cars. Skoyen himself is bringing his 1999 Ford Mustang.
“One of the things we tried to push is that anyone can bring anything, ” Skoyen said. “If some guy wants to bring his Honda Accord, he can and go cruising. ”
This is the first time the event will be happening, but they already have almost 50 cars registered through the pre-registration that ended earlier this week.
Copenhaver said he hopes the event will eventually draw around 100 cars. For Skoyen this is a very encouraging start.
“This the first year. We’re kind of just dipping our toes in the water this year, ” Skoyen said. “Hopefully we’ll get bigger and bigger”
