Car show starts new tradition at Co-op Brewery
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
RONAN — On July 21, Ronan’s Cooperative Brewery played host to the new Beers and Gears car show featuring the local car club Mission Valley Cruisers.
Head Brewer Jim Myers had previously met the Cruisers and reached out to them again when it came time for another community street closure event. Several members of the Cruisers are Co-op members as well and Activities Director Shelly Cordis commented they were eager to do something to integrate with the brewery. Cordis went to work coordinating with members to bring the event to life and even helped come up with the catchy name of Beers and Gears.
“It went really well for a first-time effort. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing,” Cordis stated. “We only have a few weekends where we’re not at a show or doing our own show or something, so when (Taproom Manager Eric Brunet) said they only get to block the street off once a month, I said let’s do it. It only gave us a couple weeks to promote it … and it actually went pretty well, so it looks like we’re doing it again next year.”
About 25 cars from a couple dozen members poured in when the time came, lining the street around the brewery. Cordis said they could probably increase that number to close to three dozen in the future, with even more spilling over into the surrounding area. “I think we can even make it a little bigger every year,” she said.
Fittingly, the band Parts and Labor accompanied the show, filling the street with live music. A member of the band visited the brewery a while back and left his contact information for future gigs. Brunet originally reached out to them for the firefighter event that happened earlier this summer, but a conflict had prevented them from attending. When the auto show came around, Brunet knew they’d be the perfect line up.
Food provided by That One Guy’s Barbecue and Tacos food truck had a line that kept flowing throughout the entire occasion. Brunet said the combination of cool cars, good music and good food made for a great event. Even the weather cooperated, he said, with the dark storm clouds formed earlier in the day, dispersing before the event began.
“It was very well attended,” Brunet said. “From the time I’ve been associated with the cooperative, that’s been the most successful event we’ve had thus far … We think it’s something we can turn into an annual summer event … We want to give a big thank you to Parts and Labor, That One Guy’s food truck, and obviously the Mission Valley Cruisers.”
Mission Valley Cruisers welcomes everyone interested in cars, classic or not. To learn more and get involved in the community, visit their Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/groups/166405770796539.
They will be attending the Polson Car Show on Aug. 13 in conjunction with the Brew Fest.
“Everybody’s always welcome,” Cordis commented. “We don’t care what you drive – some of our members don’t even have cars. Or they’re project cars that aren’t running. We always just say if you love it, we’re gonna love it.”
