By PIPER GALLAGHER
Senior Reporter
The Big Cruise and Car Show returns to Alva in just a few days.
Friday, September 19th kicks off the first day of Alva’s biggest community event, and Oklahoma’s largest free car show. The Big Cruise and Car Show brings in visitors from all over the state and surrounding states to experience the cruises and events put on by R.A.C.E., the Racing and Cruising Enthusiasts.
According to the Big Cruise and Car Show website, the event began in 1999 and only had 18 cars in attendance. Now nearly 25 years later, they’ve had almost 500 cars and thousands of people show up to the event in Alva’s downtown square in recent years.
“It’s one of the most entertaining things Alva has to offer,” said Ronnie Steffen, an event coordinator for Big Cruise and Car Show.
This will be the car shows’ 24th anniversary, and it will be jam packed with activities and events for all age groups. Steffens said it’s got something there for everyone.
Friday evening kicks off the weekend events with a free cookout at 5:45pm, with a cruise and a live band to follow. From there, the festivities last all the way until Sunday.
“What makes this year special is we’ve got the Dyno coming back, which is something that cars can set up on and measure their horsepower and torque,” Steffens said. Prizes will also be given out to cars with the most power.
Also joining the lineup this year on Saturday evening is an FMX Stunt Group called Brigade FMX. This group will offer entertaining performances by doing stunts and tricks on dirt bikes.
In addition to the multiple cruises and shows going on, there will be lots of events for younger kids as well. These events include a Little Miss Cruise pageant for young girls, pinewood derby car races, and inflatables set up along the square. A full itinerary of their events for the weekend can be found on their website at bigcruiseandcar.com.
Steffens said it takes a village to set up an event like this.
“We have a lot of people that volunteer in the community that help do this,” said Katie Franta, another event coordinator. “We start basically right after the show ends, planning for the next year.”
This event brings thousands of people right down to Alva’s square. Not only do community members get involved, but people travel from out of state to attend. This brings lots of tourism to the city.
“Another thing that’s probably the greatest part of it is that we get to bring so many people here and I know that it benefits the businesses in town a lot also,” Franta said.
The foot traffic to local businesses like restaurants and hotels will increase a lot this weekend. Big Cruise and Car will also have food trucks available all weekend long.
Next year will be their 25th anniversary, and the planning has already started for next year’s festivities.
“We’ve had a lot of people step up higher than they have before, multiple businesses have, I think in preparation for what’s coming next year because we’ve been telling them we have twice the list planned for next year,” Steffens said.