For Alex and Sherry Prestupa from Langley City, the Cruise-In swap meet and car corral in the Aldergrove Community Secondary School on Sunday, Sept. 11 — the day after the car show — was an opportunity to free up some room at home.
“[It’s] getting rid of stuff,” Sherry told the Langley Advance Times.
“You know car guys collect everything. There comes a time when you have to get rid of it.”
Alex said he’s been accumulating parts and other car-related purchases for years.
“I’ve been farting around with these old cars for 45 years,” Alex estimated.
The couple has been coming to the swap meet for years, beginning when it used to be held at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus in Langley City.
“It was great that Aldergrove picked it up,” Sherry commented.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Crowds fill the streets of Aldergrove for the Langley Good Times Cruise-In
A box of engine roller rockers on the Prestupa table, priced at $45, went for $40, to a man who admitted it would likely end up being another just-in-case-its-needed purchase that doesn’t get used.
“They’re going in the attic,” predicted the laughing man, who declined to give his name.
“They’ll never see daylight again.”
The Prestupas had arrived with their SUV full of car-related items, and by the time they left, they were down to one small box left.
“It was a good day,” Sherry said.
Vendors at the swap meet raised $1,600 for the charities supported by Cruise-In, and money from related sales, including Cruise-In t-shirts, was still being tallied.
It was the first swap meet since COVID restrictions were eased, drawing 38 vendors and 10 vehicles, which was slightly less than the numbers normally recorded in pre-pandemic times.
Riccardo Sestito, the president of the all-volunteer society that operates Cruise-In, said it felt like running into an old friend after a long absence, and resuming the relationship right where it left off.
“It’s like nothing ever happened,” Sestito remarked.
“Everything’s back to normal.”
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Aldergrove swap meet and car corral a ‘perfect’ end to Good Times Cruise-In
When the swap meet resumed, with restrictions, last year, it was held in heavy rain that forced vendors to take shelter under tarps and easy-up awnings, while visitors deployed umbrellas.
Conditions were better for the 2022 edition of the swap meet, close to ideal with the exception of a faint spattering of rain early in the day, along with the haze from Fraser Valley wildfires.
More photos from Sunday can be viewed online at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.
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