Twenty-two Cops for Kids riders arrived in Creston on Tuesday afternoon, after riding from Nelson on Highway 3A.
The annual visit is part of a ride that takes the riders on a loop from the Okanagan through the East Kootenay and north to Kamloops, raising funds for Southern Interior children that are in medical, physical or traumatic crisis.
The team pulled into the Creston Valley mall parking lot shortly after 4 p.m., where it was greeted by the Fleck family, whose 19-year-old son, Morgan, will be receiving a new tricycle from Cops for Kids in a few weeks. Overwaitea Foods staff members were also on hand to greet the riders, hand out cake and show support for the cause.
“They are community-minded people, just like us,” said East Kootenay Traffic Services member Wally Bursey, who is riding for a fifth year, addressing the crowd, which included Creston RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency members.
Supper for the riders was provided by Order of the Eastern Star, and they had breakfast on Wednesday at ABC Country Restaurant before continuing to Cranbrook.