3 minute read
Annual Royalty Rod Run
BY FRANCESCA PACCHIANO
The cruising season is well underway in Ladysmith. Every Thursday night, from May until September, hot rod owners gather at the A&W in Ladysmith to enjoy a cruise and a bit of community. Sometimes they even have live music.
Jason Kelland, the A&W Ladysmith franchise owner, said, “It’s just really about enjoying one another’s company. Come to the A&W and get an excuse for a burger while you check out incredible vehicles. Some of which you can buy too, if you are interested. But it really is about appreciating and chatting to the guys who love these vehicles and hearing their stories.”
They celebrate the last cruise of the season with cake and honouring the new royal members. “We hand out cruise and royalty jackets. In order to be a cruise and royalty member, you have to come to a minimum of 20 events in one year.” This year, he arranged licence plates to be made for the “cruising royalty.”
The A&W in Ladysmith is the one of the few franchies of the company that organizes events like this. The late Bruce McInnis started the gatherings, and it’s grown since then. “He said, ‘If you can offer a bit of a deal and put some music outside, it would be fun.’ And so we just took it and ran with it. Now, if you come visit with your classic or custom car, or … motorbikes, we’ll give you a ticket. That ticket gives you a free cup of tea and coffee and discounted meals. It also gets you into a prize draw at the end of the night, which we usually do around 7:30 in the evening.”
The Annual Royalty Rod Run is also a highlight for the group. Held on Friday, June 20, the run starts at the VIU campus in Duncan at 7 p.m. and winds through the back roads up to the A&W in Ladysmith for the trophy handout. “It’s a really beautiful drive, nice and curvy and a lot of right yields. A really great drive.”
A&W Ladysmith’s Jason Kelland with daughter Chloe at weekly Crusin’ event. Photos: Marina Sacht
The Thursday night gatherings have been a summer staple for Linda and Colin Keir for years. They bring Colin’s 1965 Impala. It’s been redone, but it’s stock with no modifications. He bought it twenty-one years ago as a tribute to his father. “He loved cars, but he didn’t have any old cars. He worked on cars all his life.”
While they love seeing the cars and showing off their car, these events are more than an opportunity to show off. “[It’s] the atmosphere and the people” that make these events special.
