By DERRICK GALINDO
Senior Reporter
The 23rd Annual Big Cruise and Car Show is September 20, 21 and 22, with plans to leave marks on the road and sky.
The newest event of the three day event is certainly the drone show, said Joe Phillips, the car show’s event coordinator.
After the pro level burnout contest ends at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, 60 drones will take to the sky and create 15 displays of graphics and advertisements on the Southeast side of the Square above the Alva Beer Co building. Dynamic Skies from Oklahoma City will provide the show.
With plans for a drone show, Phillips said this would be the biggest year he’s coordinated after coordinating for the last 10 years.
In speaking of the scale, they have had approximately 150 pre-registrations to the car show, the most they have ever gotten, he said. Along with this, they have updated the pre-registration process, which he said no doubt increased the number of applicants.
However, not every applicant is from the Oklahoma area. Phillips said that every year, a group from Wichita, Kansas enters 30-to-40 cars, along with some applicants coming from Texas and New Mexico.
They also give out a trophy dedicated to the contestant with the longest travel time, their previous winner coming from Memphis, Tennessee.
While there are certainly those who were recognized for going the distance, this year there are more than just trophies.
Anyone who enters a vehicle into the car show and is not a member of the Racing And Car Enthusiasts group, known as R.A.C.E, is entered into a giveaway of a 700-r4 transmission due to the support of Muscle Car Overdrives. Along with this, any trophy winners over the weekend will also earn $10-100 in Chamber Bucks.
There will also be plenty to eat over the weekend. Friday afternoon will open with a free cookout.
When the weekend hits, there will be 15 food trucks, five of which are new.
Finally, there’ll be a free breakfast service provided by the Extreme Youth Center at the Square on Sunday.
Overall, Phillips said he was hopeful for the event.
Last year, the show had approximately 8,800 individual phone ticks, meaning almost 8,800 people were at the car show.
This was especially prominent because the car show itself is all free to the public thanks to the financial support of sponsors, he said.
In making sure the Car Show continues getting bigger and bigger, Phillips said he had one big hope for the event.
He wanted to see 500 cars registered in the car show.
Their highest was 494, but he wants it to break 500 registered, he said.
Other than just cars there are lots of vendors and other events that happen throughout the weekend.
Saturday morning there is a sidewalk art contest and there is also a pageant for little miss Big Cruise and Car Show.
Over his 10 years of coordinating the car show, he likes all the events.
However, his favorite of the events is Saturday evening when they present the trophies.
“That is a good time for me,” Phillips said, “seeing all the nice vehicles and remembering those who are gone. That Saturday night is a highlight for me.”
