CRESTVIEW — Two downtown events have combined into a feast for the eye and the palate.
The Spanish Trail Cruisers have teamed up with the Main Street Crestview Association to add the Taste of Crestview restaurant crawl to the annual Average Joe Car Show on April 20.
Mike Turman and Ellis Conner, presidents of the car club and the Main Street association, respectively, announced the collaboration at Monday's city council meeting.
Turman requested the city's assistance to close Main Street for the event, provide portable restrooms, barricades for side streets and security by the Crestview Police Department. The council unanimously approved the club's request.
Some 100 vintage vehicles from throughout the Southeast appear at the event, drawing thousands of spectators. The Cruisers traditionally pour the proceeds from car show registrations into the community, a favorite charity being the local food bank.
"They do a lot of charitable things for our city, including taking care of our very needed Sharing and Caring," Councilman Charles Baugh Jr., a Spanish Trail Cruisers honorary member, said. "I'm looking forward to it, especially if it is as big an event as I think it's going to be."
Considering past Taste of Crestview events' popularity made the collaboration an easy decision, Conner said.
"We started this dialogue about three months ago," he said. "We have all the details worked out at this time. This will hopefully make a good event even better with the addition of the food."
BREAKOUT (with Crestview Blue screen):
Lately, the Crestview City Council:
•Unanimously directed city staff to create a document showing taxpayers' cost for granting non-profit organizations' free use of city parks for their events. Krystal Jackson, the local Relay for Life cancer fundraiser's event chair, had requested free use of Old Spanish Trail Park for the annual all-night walkathon.
•Learned that Wave express bus rides between Crestview and Fort Walton Beach are down 9 percent, according to Councilman Charles Baugh Jr.
"If you're riding the Wave, you gotta have the numbers or they're going to take it away from us," he said, referring to the County Board of Commissioners' aim to cancel this area's bus service.
"The good news is routes 11 and 12 are up 2 percent, he said, referring to routes that specifically serve the city.
•Unanimously appointed Mayor David Cadle as the council's representative to the Supervisor of Elections Canvassing Board. The city clerk typically fills the seat, but with City Clerk Betsy Roy being a candidate for reelection, she cannot serve on the election board.
•Unanimously appointed Main Street Crestview Association member Cal Zethmayr to the Historic Preservation Board on Council President Ben Iannucci III's recommendation.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Downtown car show and restaurant crawl combine for April 20 event