People checking out the classic cars in downtown Vernon as part of the 25th annual Sun Valley Cruise-In (submitted photo / Facebook)

By Liam Verster

25th annual

Record turnout for classic car show in Vernon

Jul 11, 2023 | 5:00 AM

The Sun Valley Cruise-In may have hit its participant goal after a quarter century of operations.

The 25th annual classic car show in Vernon saw hundreds of vehicles turn out to Polson Park Sunday, July 9.

“We have an informal count, so one of our members did a count of the park, and I think we reached the goal finally, which has always been a goal over the past 25 years, of 500 vehicles within the park itself,” Stephanie Everitt, chair of the Sun Valley Cruise-In committee, told Vernon Matters.

“Our goal was always to reach 500 vehicles and “pack Polson Park.” So our goal was to have 500 on the Sunday just itself and I believe we achieved that. We did a count of the vehicles mid-day and we were over 400 by far and I think we reached that 500 goal.”

She added that count may have included cars brought in by spectators as well as those registered and set up in the park..

Council grants

Vernon to distribute over $50k in Council Discretionary Grants, $20K to the food bank

12h ago

Possible firearm involved

One person apprehended in connection with suspicious activity in Coldstream

Dec 13, 2025

Fatal Collision, Highway Closed

One person dead in crash near Revelstoke

Dec 13, 2025

Saturday saw approximately 350 of the classic cars line the streets of downtown Vernon as part of the Cruise-In, well above their usual turnout of 250.

People checking out the classic cars in downtown Vernon as part of the 25th annual Sun Valley Cruise-In (submitted photo / Facebook)

People checking out the classic cars in downtown Vernon as part of the 25th annual Sun Valley Cruise-In (submitted photo / Facebook)

There were also 112 cars that took part in the Back Country Cruise from Vernon to Rawly Lake near Lumby earlier in the weekend.

Everitt said the record number of cars also brought out what was believed to be record crowds of people to check out the classic cars and speak with the owners over the weekend. She added the downtown businesses and restaurants likely “reaped the rewards” of having so many people out for the weekend events.

Though she didn’t have a formal count of the spectators, Everitt said the 2022 events saw around 5,000 people check out the cars Saturday and between 5,000 and 10,000 come down to the park Sunday, and she believes there were more people out for the events this summer.

The cars came from far and wide to take part in the Sun Valley Cruise-In.

“Our furthest distances was a couple of couples from 100 Mile House, Prince George, Fort St. John,” Everitt said adding there were also a few people from Alberta and even Saskatchewan who made the trek out to Vernon for the show.

“People come the distance, and a lot of times with car enthusiasts they’ll plan a summer and do a tour of B.C. and they’ll hit their favourite shows, and we’re kind of making a name for ourselves to be one of those destinations.”

Everitt added that, as with any event of this type, there were a few cars that had issues.

One car parked downtown Saturday started leaking gasoline and had to be towed away, another broke down during the Backcountry Cruise, and a few ran into trouble while coming from out of town and didn’t even make it to the event.

Looking ahead to next year, Everitt said they will be looking at improving their communication, particularly with social media, to help attract more participants and spectators for the classic car show.