About the Cruisers

Summer Cruise was started in 1995.  A few local guys (Viril Anderson, Lorne Caldwell and  had the idea to get a bunch of car enthusiasts together, have a barbecue and go for a ride.  Around 20 vehicles attended that first year.  They did a drive around town, met at the Walter Wright Village for a meal and then headed home.  The second year was a full day event with 50 vehicles attending. For the third annual Summer cruise, the event became a two day affair with a 50s style sock hop on the Saturday night and then a show and shine around the Mile Zero Post on Sunday.

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By 1999 the event became a three day celebration of the automobile with a welcome cruise-in and family barbecue and street dance at the Dawson CO-OP Mall.  The Dawson CO-OP has been sponsoring the Friday night event ever since.  Friday nights have included Cosmic Bowling for several years now. Saturdays are now a chance take part in a Cruisers breakfast, the poker rally and all the games, dine with the other registrants at the Steak Dinner, enjoy the Burnout competition, take part in the club led all-paved cruise through the beautiful Peace country, or various other events that have made this a weekend to remember. Some events are for registered participants only and some are open to the public to join in on the fun.

The big event is still the show and shine on Sunday and it is still held on Main street, spreading out from the Mile Zero Post.  While originally it took up the first block west of the Mile Zero Post, the show has now grown to fill 12 city blocks with vehicles arriving from all over northern BC and AB as well as the occasional guest from much further away.  The original 20 vehicles have grown more than ten times to over 300 vehicles on display.  Since 2012, the Show and Shine Sunday has seen no less than 330 vehicles on display.

The Club hosted the 25th Anniversary show in 2019 with a whopping 537 registered vehicles on display. Some of the bonus events over the years have been car games, drive-in movies, live Saturday afternoon Elvis tribute performances, trips to the drag races in nearby Fort St John, cruising through the Peace country with a stop for ice cream and more.

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From its inception, the show has been inclusive of all types of motorized vehicles.  Cars of every description and year from 1914 to current model years, trucks of every year and size from the smallest compacts to monster trucks to farm trucks to highway haulers, motorcycles with two wheels, three wheels and even one single wheel contraption. Motorized barstools, go carts, tractors, boats and a land speed jet car have all been on display at Summer Cruise.  As well as the more traditional looking vehicles we have also had some interesting art cars in attendance such as the flower covered VW Beetle and the astro-turf covered Mercury Cougar.  You can never be sure what you might find at the Summer Cruise Show but you can be assured of finding something interesting to look at, a bit of history, many non-profit societies with displays and booths, and lots of people to visit with. 

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No matter what your ride, shiny or tarnished, dented or finished, you are welcome in the Mile Zero Cruisers and at Summer Cruise.