Rumbling into town

Bentley Forlong, 4, long time car enthusiast Wayne Forlong, and Kingsley Forlong, 5 months. Photo: Sharnae Hope

It's more about family than a show 'n tell of your classic beauties. The annual toy run has been running for 15 years, and will continue to rev on.

The Tauranga Toy Run returns with a range of hot rods, muscle cars and classics rides ready to cruise through the city for the good cause.

On Friday, December 7, hundreds of toys will be donated to the Child Cancer Foundation and Waipuna Hospice.

Organiser Jill de Buisson says last year the event was one of the biggest she's ever had, with so many people coming from out of town.

'Every year there's new cars, showing that cancer is affecting more and more people,” says Jill.

'We get people who are so grateful for Child Cancer and Waipuna Hospice, so this is their way of saying thanks. It's incredibly generous how much some of them donate.”

Although the event is centred on donations, she says on the day she never knows how many people will turn up or how many toys will be donated.

'We're always going to end up with more stuff than when we started, so anything is better than nothing,” she says.

'We've stood out in the rain and we've still had 180 cars, but if we stood out and only got 50 cars, it wouldn't matter.”

She says everything is the same as last year except for the route which, due to infrastructure and traffic, will take the cars down less populated roads.

'We are going down the far end of Truman Lane, then heading over to Sandhurst Road and up onto Ocean Beach Road. Then around the Mount over the Harbour Bridge to Cameron Road, 15th Avenue and to Fraser Cove.”

The Tauranga Toy Run started 15 years ago with the help of Sarah Ellis, her husband John, Jill and Steve de Buisson.

They all had a passion for cars, and had also lost friends and family to cancer. They decided to start the Toy Run after attending a similar event in Auckland.

Jill's family is also heavily involved in the event.

The Tauranga Toy Run will be held on Friday, December 7, at 6pm. After the run, cars will meet at Fraser Cove Shopping Centre from 7.15pm, where members of the public can view the vehicles.

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