Classic cruisers
Classic cars, brewfest, art festival draw crowds to downtown Polson
Summer Goddard
Polson’s Main Street was closed Saturday for the annual Cruisin’ by the Bay car show and Rotary Brewfest.
Summer Goddard
Rotary Brewfest attendees visit under a canopy of white tents.
Summer Goddard
A beaded and buttoned Volkswagen van on top of music sheets was on display at the 53rd annual Courthouse Art Festival.
Summer Goddard
Handmade trophies like the one above were awarded to the top 10 Cruisin by the Bay Best of Show winners.
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It was a busy weekend in downtown Polson as a car show, brewfest and art festival drew crowds of people to town.
The annual Cruisin’ by the Bay car show, hosted by the Mission Valley Cruisers car club, drew 186 entries this year. Handmade trophies, made entirely of car parts by club members, were given with cash prizes to the top 10 best of show winners. Shelly Cordis, who serves as activities director and secretary for the Mission Valley Cruisers, said the handmade trophies were quite elaborate this year - with one standing nearly 3 feet tall. “We’ve had calls from all over the state,” she said. “We’ve got one with lights, and one with a UFO that has lights.”
This year was declared “Year of the Mustang” as 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the vehicle’s manufacture. This year is also the second year that a portion of event registration fees will be put toward a scholarship for a Lake County student going into the automotive field. A $500 scholarship was given this spring to Jak Starkel of St. Ignatius from 2023 car show fees. Cordis said the club hopes to double the amount – and give out a $1,000 scholarship in the future.
2024 Top 10 Best of Show winners are:
Bryan Balcerzak from Helena, 1966 Chevy Corvette
Mark Sanders from Polson, 1959 Chevy Apache
Ron Couture from Arlee, 1936 Pontiac Coupe
Chris Rossmiller from Kalispell, 1971 Plymouth Cuda 340
Lonnie & Deb Keller from Kalispell, 1964 Chevy Pickup
Mike Coates from Wise River, 1934 Chevy Sedan
Byron Whitehead from Kalispell, 1946 Chevy Pickup
Candy Johnson & Paul Krueger from Columbia Falls, 1928 Dodge 5-Window Coupe
Cole Younger from Arlee, 1952 GMC 3100
Chad Wenger from Helena, 1932 Ford Roadster
The 2024 Club’s Choice Award went to Sam Allred from Polson with his 1923 Ford Model T. Year of the Mustang People’s Choice winner is Dan Gustafson from Bigfork’s 1968 Ford Mustang while Craig Eaton from Rollins won Best of Show with his 1955 Chevy 3100.
Polson Rotary Club’s third annual Brewfest was also held Saturday at the south end of Main Street in front of the Elks Club. For an entry fee, those attending the Brewfest were able to sample beer from local breweries while enjoying live music from the band Hellcat Maggie. Elks Club members were also on hand cooking and serving up hamburgers and hot dogs. “That’s been a good partnership,” said Rotary Club board member Larry Peltz.
This year’s Rotary Brewfest raised an estimated $20,000 for youth activities. Specifically, money raised will be used to: improve the Rotary baseball field in Polson, pay for swim lessons for Valley View School children, put wheels on handpainted skateboards – a project of the Boys and Girls Club and fund a Flathead Lake Biological Station graduate student scholarship.
Peltz, who also currently serves as the Rotary Club’s fundraising coordinator, estimates the club has raised between $350,000 to $400,000 for local youth activities since 2007. In addition to their main fundraising event, Peltz explained that the club also provides a platform for groups to raise money themselves by selling raffle tickets. Whatever money a group raises through raffle sales is theirs to keep.
“It’s a substantial amount of money to give to youth groups that really need it,” Peltz said. Several years ago he said the wrestling program approached Rotary with a need for new uniforms – particularly because girls who were now wrestling and didn’t have uniforms. Rotary provided the wrestling team with $8,000 to $10,000 to help.
There are a lot of great programs out there that need support, Peltz said. “We’re here to help.”
The 53rd annual Courthouse Art Festival, organized by the Sandpiper Art Gallery and Gifts in Polson, took place simultaneously on the courthouse lawn on Aug. 10. The day-long event featured fine arts and crafts in a wide array of mediums from vendors that filled the courthouse lawn. Handcrafted glass wind chimes, photography, paintings, artwork made entirely of buttons and beads, jewelry, sculptures and more were on display and for sale
