The Hyack Festival Association and Key West Ford have put the brakes on the 2015 Show and Shine, but are already gearing up for 2016.
The event, which is estimated to have brought one million visitors to New Westminster during its 15-year run, has been cancelled for 2015. During its run, the Royal City Show and Shine had grown to become the largest car show in the Pacific Northwest and featured hundreds of classic and vintage cars, bikes, entertainment, beer gardens and a family fun zone.
Don Swindells, president of the Hyack Festival Association, said it’s “extremely disappointing” to have to cancel the event.
“We just ran out of time due to some logistics. Unless this thing comes off as a 100 per cent success, we both agreed, why do it? At the end of the day we decided to pull back, cancel this year and gear up for 2016,” he told the Record. “It’s not the end of the show and shine – absolutely not. Both Key West Ford and Hyack are determined to put on a great event. In 2016, it will be the great event we all hope it will be.”
The 16th annual Show and Shine was set to be held on July 12th. In previous years, the annual event has attracted more than 300 classic cars and over 145,000 visitors to Columbia Street.
“Key West Ford is proud of its strong community sponsorships," said Key West Ford general manager Adam Isfeld in a press release. "We want to maintain the quality and value this significant event has in New Westminster, for residents and the thousands of people who come out to enjoy a full day of entertainment, food and fun for the whole family. We're looking forward to working with all our community partners for an exciting event in 2016. "
Last November, the Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Association announced it had decided to pull the plug on the annual Show and Shine on Columbia Street and focus its efforts on the newer Columbia StrEAT Food Truck Fest. Soon after, the Hyack Festival Association stated it would take over the popular event and Key West Ford got onboard as a co-sponsor.
Swindells said the decision to cancel this year’s event was a joint decision by Key West Ford and the Hyack Festival Association, in response to the logistics and timeframe for putting on an event of this magnitude and some logistical issues in ensuring it was a success.
