There was an interesting and varied mix of classic and hot rod cars at this year’s 13th version of Kars Under the “K”.
The car show has been attracting visitors to Keremeos on the B.C.Day long weekend from all over the region , giving local business a boost in the process.
It was disappointing to hear the Junior Chamber International of Penticton decided to stage a car show on the same day, (the Jacked and Juiced custom car show) in place of their annual event, which was the Mr. Muscle and bikini contest, which ran for 30 years.
That event seemed to fit in with the profile of other events normally taking place in Pentcton on the long weekend, which typically are themed around youth.
The organizers said they were trying to put together a more family friendly event. However, those types of activities abound next week in Penticton, centred around the Peach Festival,
Penticton also already has a major car show in the spring, which put some distance on the calendar between it and Kars, so there was has not been any concern the local car show market would get over -represented.
It appeared that attendance at Sunday’s Kars Under the “K” was down a bit from previous years, in spite of the good weather and the highly varied selection of entries.
Obviously, the Penticton market represents a substantial market for Kars organizers. It’s unfortunate JCI made the choice it did this year when they already had a venue that was well established and well positioned for the Penticton B.C. Day tourist market.
Kars Under the “K” is a well established car show in the area, and it’s not clear whether attendance was negatively affected by the Penticton show. It would be unfortunate if it was, however, as the future end result of JCI’s decision may ultimately be to the detriment of both organizations.