LANGLEY - A new motorcycle show area, a protected hot rod exhibition
space, and a return of the Friday night car cruise are among a few of the goals for this year's Langley Good Times Cruise-In directors.A new recently elected Cruise-In board resulted in a few new faces around the table, plus revealed a series of new plans that are already in the works for the 2015 charity car show.Cruise-In has grown since its inception in 1997 to become Langley's single largest tourism attraction, drawing upwards of 100,000 people every September to this community."2015 will hold an exciting new souvenir tent, and we have new board members who have brought some exciting new ideas to our event," said Wayne Patterson, the new Cruise-In president.This is Patterson's first year at the helm, but he's no stranger to the event, having volunteered in a number of different capacities over the years.He's joined on this year's board by past-president Eric Taylor, as well as returning directors Lori Watts, Riccardo Sestito and Dick Hooper, and newcomers Chad Van Den Berg and Bruce Pihan.Elaborating on the new board's goals, Patterson said directors have been fielding requests for a motorcycle show area in the show for years. Now, they hope to make that a reality.Likewise, he said that a hot rod area could be in the works for 2015."These are high dollar cars where the owners want the vehicles to be protected with stations," Patterson explained."We have had this for non-modified cars at Douglas Park, now we will have a separate area for modified cars."While these are what Patterson describes as the confirmed changes afoot for this year, he added "we still have a bunch we are working on," including the expansion of the RoadmanSideshow. It is expected to be a bigger component of Langley's Cruise-In.The board is also "reaching out for help to bring back the Friday night car cruise, if anyone is interested in helping out or has ideas," Patterson said.He said he's excited to see a lot of new people getting involved at the subcommittee levels for this year's show and is "excited" to see and hear their ideas for "ways to improve the great event."CHARITIES ARE THE MOTIVATION Once again, the Cruise-In has also revealed its charities of choice, which will be receiving money raised from this year's car show.Each year, all the money raised from the annual twoday car show and swap meet is divvied up among a few local charities.That list once again includes Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association, as well as Langley Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, Langley Community Support Group, Legacy Water Search Rescue, Douglas Park School, PuCKS, the Boys Girls Club of Langley and Salvation Army's Langley shelter."And, of course, many minor charities that help bring the Cruise-In together" will also receive some funding from the charity driven event, Patterson said.The 2015 Cruise-In will happen in early September.Visit Langleycruise-in.com rhooper@mrtimes.com