Itchin’ like a man on a fuzzy tree for some Elvis? Next weekend’s fourth annual Kruisin’ with the King in Linwood has got you covered. Four years ago event organizer Herb Neher approached the Linwood Rod & Gun Club to see if they would be interested in sprucing up their already existing classic car show by integrating it with some 1950s and ’60’s entertainment. “The idea was that people can have a party and sit outside, listen to some music, look at the cars and really enjoy themselves,” said Neher.
This year’s event features a more family-friendly atmosphere where parents can bring their children to enjoy the show and be entertained with face-painting, a jumping castle and balloon animals.
“We want to bring the family into it,” said Neher. “We are really interested in making this a whole community event, for everyone.”
For the adults this year will include not only classic cars but tractors as well.
The organizing committee has also made a few changes to this year’s lineup of artist, booking Rick Duin as Johnny Cash and Doc Johnston as Roy Orbison.
“[Duin] does an excellent performance and he normally does not come out to these freebie events but he has volunteered to help me out this year,” said Neher. “We are also featuring a few regulars like Anthony Carbonne, who is one hell of a great singer and won the Collingwood Elvis festival last year.”
As for the king, there will be five different artists performing their renditions of Elvis through out the day.
“We have a variety of Elvis performers,” said Neher. “Jamie Hoffman performs as the G.I. Elvis and does an excellent job. I do the early years and the movie years but my favorite one is the jump suit, the later years, because as you get older you can’t jump around like a young man anymore doing the splits. Elvis himself didn’t do all those moves as he aged he just kept his posture on the stage, which is easier for me to impersonate.”
For the past three years the show has had to deal with rain. This time around organizers are hoping for a sunnier outcome.
“Once it rains the classic cars are gone,” said Neher. “We want to have a nice sunny day where we could get some kind of feel as to what the interest is and how many people will actually come out.”
If the show suffers from the same fate as previous years, the organizing committee does have an indoor venue ready.
“We are very fortunate because of this activity and all the volunteers, if it looks likes it’s going to rain we can set up in the community centre and holding everything inside, that’s where we have an advantage over other outdoor events.”
For the show June 25 there’s an entry fee of $2 to help off set the cost of the event but kids under 12 will get in free. All the proceeds raised from the event goes to support the Linwood fire station, the Linwood Lions Club and the Linwood Rod & Gun fundraising projects.
“We are very grateful to all our sponsors that contribute every year and the numerous volunteers that help us out all day long,” said Neher. “We have such a great and positive experience for everybody involved, we all just really hyped up as we get closer to the day.”
