Welcome to the Ketchikan Kruzers web site!
If you are currently living in or visiting Ketchikan and would be interested in joining the club contact one of our members and we will see that you get information on our meetings.
Update 6/18/11: Kruzers meeting Saturday 25th @ 6:00pm upstairs in Jeremiah's Bar & Grill
Summer is now in full swing as we look towards to the 4th of July and the following Test & Tune race weekend. We will be having a sit-down meeting to iron out the details. If there is anyone interested in joining the Kruzers, attending a sit-down meeting is the best way to introduce yourself.
For now, here's a clip...
It's great to finally get back to warmer weather and a fresh season and this year we have a goal in mind that will help make the Annette Island Raceway more than just an abandoned airstrip, but rather a fully functional race track with timing lights, starting trees, better safety rails and stands for spectators. It's going to take a lot of teamwork, fundraising and active participation but if everything goes well we could help create a real race track for Southeast Alaska and surrounding areas.
Update: 8/29/10: Plaza Car show coming up on Oct. 9-10th, New clips on YouTube
It's been a great summer and soon the weather will change but before it does we're not quite finished yet. Since the last update we had another Test & Tune run @ Metlakatla in July. Clip below...
Plus we went over for our second time to celebrate Founder's Day with the folks over in Metlakatla and again, despite a spot of nasty weather on Friday, it cleared up nicely and we managed to conduct some races and have a great time. Big thanks to Dawn Pringle for again coming out and sweeping the hangar out prior to our arrival.
Now in the post season we are trying to put together an end-of-season get-together BBQ and we have been confirmed to show inside the mall on October 9-10th with cars being drove in the evening of the 8th. This is the third time we've had the opportunity to show inside the mall and it's a great venue for getting in touch with the people. I'll have footage from this summer compiled and edited together and will be showing it as well. Be sure to check out our Facebook page and YouTube channel as well!
Update: 6/8/10: Kruzers meeting 6/16/10 @ Jeremiah's 6:30pm & video clips are coming!
It was an exciting Memorial Day weekend over at Metlakatla. To our surprise, Dawn and her crew of volunteers had the hangar already swept out when we got there! WOW! Another surprise came when we took a more accurate measure of our designated quarter mile, finding it to be 123 ft. too long! (That means we're running faster quarters than we thought!)
We also had a impromptu celebrity visit from the granddaughter of Wally Parks, founder of the NHRA. Tamara took her first pass in a drag car driving Gary's Camaro (three passes actually) and signed some cars and helmets afterwards. Big thanks go out to her for coming over and also to the editor of the Prince Rupert Auto Club for giving us mention on their club's page. Even bigger thanks go out ot the Mayor and Tribal Council, the Metlakatla Vol. Fire Dept.,Metlakatla Police Dept. and everyone in Metlakatla as a whole for their continued support!
I brought back three full tapes of runs and other antics and am processing them now. I grabbed a few quick runs that didn't need editing and uploaded them to the Ketchikan Kruzers' YouTube channel and posted links on our Facebook page. I will be out of town next week, but will try and post some more stuff up before I go. Also be sure to check the Events page for an updated tentative list of what's coming up...
After a good meeting with the folks over at Metlakatla we're being welcomed back for another summer of racing. Starting with this Memorial Day weekend 5/27/10 through 5/31/10 we will be trying to hold Test & Tune sessions once a month this summer. So get your rides out and get in touch with Gary, Randy, Laurel or myself and let us know if you're coming. I'll add an event listing to the Kruzers Group on Facebook as well. I'll try to head over with the first boat on Thursday but everyone should plan on at least being there by Saturday afternoon.
Everyone meet at Berth #4 downtown @ 1:30 for a few cruises round town and then out north to for a mini-show @ Clover Pass. Sorry it's been awhile, I'll be uploading some new content and news very soon, plus I'll be making some DVD's of the complete Founder's Day races last August in as close to sequential order as I can...
We have a new event on the horizon coming up very shortly so don't put your cars away just yet. We've been invited to show our cars inside The Plaza Mall on October 10th. This will actually be a joint show with the Ketchikan Harley Riders Association with their bikes upstairs and the Ketchikan Kruzers on the main floor showing our cars. The club hasn't shown at The Plaza since 2004. We have been informed that there will be a band and I will attempt to have our videos playing in some of the stores with TVs. I'll have the latest DVD finished by then and have copies available.
We are needing everyone wishing to attend to RSVP by sending us an email or contacting any of our members as there will only be room for about 17 or 18 cars. Anyone attending must be present at 8:00pm on the evening of Friday the 9th to roll their car in. We will have a limited time window to get everyone in and also have time afterwards for detailing and final set up. The show will run from 9am-8pm, Saturday and afterward we will exit the mall that evening.
I've had the 3rd teaser up for awhile on the new Ketchikan Kruzers YouTube channel. I'll be reuploading the same clips you've already seen (some will be remastered) as well as additional clips of other runs and events this summer, so stay tuned for those too...
Due to a passing of a prominent citizen in Metlakatla, the Fire Chief has informed us that they will be unable to support us this weekend as his staff will be occupied with the services. Our condolences go to the bereaved and the Kruzers voted this evening to have a flower arrangement taken over to Metlakatla.
Other matters discussed involved assertaining interest in establish a Jr. Drag Racing league for youngsters using mini-dragsters and crafting a grant proposal. It has also been approved to create a gift plaque to the Mayor and Tribal Council as a token of our appreciation for this past summer's activities. The formalities of our Non-Profit status are in the final stages, which will allow more cooperation with local donors and businesses for the club's needs. I am working on getting the next DVD made up and I will get them out to people that want them as soon as possible.
Gary just announced that we are definitely going to try for another weekend
over at Metlakatla. It's been a busy summer for all of us and we've had
a great deal of fun. The citizens of Metlakatla enjoyed having us over as
well but always ask: When are you coming over again? So if anyone hasn't
had a chance to experience racing you should definitely plan on making this
trip. Anyone wishing to go should email Gary or the Kruzers
email so we can get an idea of how many will attend. Gary would also
like to have a sit-down meeting @ First Bank IBEW Hall on
Sept. 2 to discuss the trip and other matters.
More details to come, but in the meantime, enjoy the 2nd teaser...
I hope everyone had a good time last weekend because despite some rain that dampened the track, and the hangar in places, we persevered and still got in some good runs from everyone. We are very thankful to the people of Metlakatla for welcoming us over to participate in their Founder's Day celebrations. I'm working to try and get my video processed quickly into another DVD for everyone to enjoy. Until then here's a quick teaser I threw together...
Anyone who has pictures or video footage let me know so I can incorporate them into future releases...
Well I hope everyone's ready because we have got a weekend of cool cars and hot racing ahead. If you thought the Test & Tune runs were fun, you haven't seen anything yet. Already the ferry is booked up with cars going over as early as Thursday to be a part of this event. Plan on having a car show in the hangar at the airfield on the morning of the 8th, with racing going on in the afternoon till dusk. Beyond that, who knows? I'm sure the folks over in Metlakatla have lots more going on than we know about. Even if you're not racing come on over by floatplane for the day anyway and witness the spectacle and wonderful hospitality of Metlakatla...
If you are going, and don't already have housing arranged, plan on Tent City (read: camping out) out at the airstrip. I'm sure we will all be spending many a night around the bonfire and sharing lots of good times. I'll be shooting lots of video of the races and other antics, but be sure to bring your own cameras and camcorders. I'm looking forward to all the new faces and rides, plus some more we haven't seen in awhile.
See you there!
First off we had a great 4th of July with an excellent showing down and the Federal Building and our entry in this year's parade won the "Most Entertaining" award. A big thanks to everyone who contributed! Everyone who visited was impressed at this year's showing and the weather was absolutely perfect. I've uploaded a few of my pictures to the club's Facebook page and will be creating a thread in the forum as well. I'm trying to get better resolution pictures uploaded to the club's Photobucket album as well...
Next up, the 2nd Test & Tune event over in Metlakatla starting on the 11th, with some people leaving on the 10th. It looks like we'll have great weather again and even more cars going over this time. Sadly, I have prior obligations Up North and will not be there but someone, ANYONE, please take a video camera and shoot some footage of both the runs and other antics so I'll have something to work with when I get back.
On that note, I've finally got a DVD made up and I'll make as many copies of as I can, but I will also get a disc to Rick Roweder (RRWRX), who offered to help make copies and distribute them as well.
This clip is on the DVD in full resolution as well as KPU's Channel 611 - Live in Ketchikan Be sure to go and vote for it on their site!
We are to meet at the Federal Building around 6:00pm for a spin around town, making noise and celebrating our great state's 50th anniversary! Be there if you can, even if you don't have a car! This is another great opportunity to get public exposure for the Kruzers! I will be there too with my video camera to record the event.
And speaking of videos...
Here's some more footage from Met I just put together of Steve and Gene driving their cars for the first time. Gene woke us up at 5:00am as soon as the light was up...
Ok, now that we're getting some attention, there will be lots more coming, including a spot on KPU's new channel 611 - Live in Ketchikan as well as a some video I will be setting up for showing downtown during our 4th of July Show and Shine. Everyone be sure to get their cars ready to show next weekend and make sure you're down at the Federal Building early-ish before the streets are closed.
At our June 24th sit-down meeting it was decided to initiate the process of officially becoming a non-profit organization as well. This is a big step towards making the club more than just a few car nuts getting together and cruising around. I've updated a few of the peripheral pages a bit and have also created a Facebook Fan page to increase our exposure.
Update: 6/14/09: Just got back from the Test & Tune event in Metlakatla and it was
AWESOME!!!
Tremendous thanks go out to all the people over at Metlakatla for their hospitality, we could not have done any of it without the excellent support from the Mayor, the Tribal Council, the Metlakatla Vol. Fire Dept, Metlakatla Police Dept. and all the wonderful people that donated their time and efforts over the past weekend. As much as we were thanked by everyone for coming over, so we wish to thank everyone involved for hosting us. Your airstrip may be one of the best kept secrets in all of Southeast Alaska. We look forward to future events later this summer.
I will be processing and posting more pictures and videos from the event here and in the forum in the next few weeks. I am sure that in addition to my own footage that other people took pictures and videos and all are welcome to post them up in the forum or contact me for help uploading them.
Again thanks to everyone, spectators and participants alike, and stay tuned for future event announcements. The Kruzers will be holding a meeting on June 24th at the IBEW hall (317 Stedman) at 7:00pm. Anyone interested in joining is always welcome. This is only the beginning...
Anyone wanna race? This car and several others are going over to Metlakatla next weekend... Get ready!
Well, summer is here again and it's time to get our rides out of storage and on the street. This is going to be a VERY busy year for us so it's time to get firing on all cylinders. For the first time anyone can remember we have an opportunity to host legal drag racing, thanks to the people of Metlakatla. This is something locals have spun tales of old about and dreamed of doing again someday and we are very fortunate for the opportunity. We had a meeting to discuss some of the events we want to do this summer so here's a quick summary of tentative dates:
June 3rd - Sit Down Meeting @ First Bank 7:00pm
June 13-14 - Test & Tune runs at Metlakatla.
June 30th - Alaska Statehood 50th Anniversary Celebration parade.
July 4th - Annual Show 'n' Shine Car Show.
July 11-12 - Drag racing at Metlakatla.
August 1st - Blueberry Festival Car Show.
August 7-9th - Founders Day Drags and Car Show at Metlakatla.
We also agreed to restart our weekly, weather-permitting Cruise Nights. People can meet up at the new First Bank branch at Jefferson & Tongass Saturday evenings around 6:30-7:00pm with the cruise starting shortly after.
As always we are always interested in new gearheads getting onboard, so send us an email at ketchkruze@yahoo.com or register on our forum for the latest info about events, projects and happenings.
Older posts can be found on the Archives Page...
