iN PHOTOS: Penticton’s Peach City Beach Cruise is back after two year COVID break

Dozens of car enthusiasts traveled from around B.C. to show off their prized possessions along Penticton’s northern waterfront.

Lakeshore Drive has become even more scenic when the Peach City Beach Cruise fills the parking stalls with retro and extravagant cars.

Some vehicles look like they may have belonged to gangsters in the 1930s, others are from the golden age of muscle cars, and some are new and swanky.

Car enthusiasts have spilled over onto the Bowmont Hotel in Penticton during the 2022 Peach City Beach Cruise. | Photographer: Dan Walton

Lorne and Darlene Cochet travelled from Princeton in their 1957 Ford pickup to be part of the cruise.

“The weather, the friends, the hotel – we like everything here,” Darlene said about why she came.

Their friend Lisa Borden, who travelled from the Sechelt area, had more reasons for making the trip.

“The water, the wine tour, the other cars – the list goes on and on,” Borden said. “It’s a holiday for us.”

The group of friends would have come to the Beach Cruise in 2020 and 2021 had it not been cancelled due to COVID, and had attended for five years prior to that.

Darla Scown grew up in Penticton and lives in Kamloops now. She and her husband Nick were lounging near their hot pink 1956 Buick Roadmaster. Darla attended the car show several times when she was local, but this was her first year there with a car to show off.

Nick said the 66-year-old car had no trouble reaching highway speeds the way to Penticton via Highway 5 and Highway 97, and he noticed a lot of other travellers taking a look.

The event continues Saturday and Sunday.

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