Why the Queen City Cruise keeps them coming back year after year
By Colin Payne
Every year the Queen City Cruise (QCC) attracts more and more car enthusiasts to Nelson, and keeps car owners coming back year after year.
What makes it so successful?
According to QCC regular, Patsy Kachnoski, it’s a combination of the friendly locals and everything their town has to offer.
Kachnoski travels to the QCC each year from her home in Fairmont Hotsprings along with her husband Ivan.
Together they bring all manner of cool cars and trucks to the show – and they never have a hard time finding new folks to bring along too.
“It’s always a pleasure to come to your show, and I never have any trouble convincing other car enthusiasts to join us when they know we’re heading to Nelson,” Kachnoski says.
We hit a lot of shows and your snow is not only the friendliest, but very well organized.
“Your parking crew doesn’t tell you where to park but helps you park and leaves enough space to the cars can have one door open, which the public loves. The judges are not aloof, but stop and chat to learn about the vehicles. You have lots of categories, which gives everyone a good change of going home with one of your beautiful custom trophies.”
She adds that it’s great to be in the downtown where all the action is, including the great shops and restaurants.
“You close the main street down, which is great,” she says. “A lot of cities put you out in a field where the public can’t find you.
And those are real compliments coming from the Kachnoskis, who are veterans of the car show circuit.
“We’re retired. So for retirement we got into classic cars, and we travel all over the country,” she says.
“We’ve been as far as Elvis Presley’s estate (in Memphis, TN) to compete. And we actually won a trophy there.”
And in a real treat for those who attend the QCC, the car that won at Elvis’s house will be in Nelson for the big show – a baby blue 1956 Ford Thunderbird, also known as a Baby Bird.
The Kachnoskis will also be bringing along with them a rare cab over engine truck that was recently featured in Canadian Street Rod magazine.
“We have probably tthree offers at every show from people trying to buy it because it’s so unique,” Kachnoski says. “It looks like a Chevy that ran into a cement wall.”
And the trip to Nelson is an annual ritual for the Kachnoskis, who start out from Fairmont and pick up people in various communities along the route as they make the trip together.
“Every year we have more folks who come,” she says. “It’s just a real treat. It’s so nice when you get there and feel like you’re welcome, not just a number. Nelson lets you feel like you’re welcome.”
This year’s Queen City Cruise is going down the weekend of September 5, with events throughout the weekend. For more information, visit the Road Kings website.
