The fate of the Langley Good Times Cruise-In could be decided as early as next week.

Two days before the 2010 car show would normally roll out on the streets of downtown Langley City, a meeting has been called that could ultimately decide the event's future, president Riccardo Sestito told the Langley Advance.

The 2010 Cruise-In was cancelled earlier this year, organizers listing a number of reasons for the decision. Those included bureaucratic red tape, need for additional experienced and long-term directors, but paramount were some safety concerns specific to unsanctioned gatherings that resulted in burn-outs on the City streets.

By cancelling the show for one year, Sestito said, he and fellow directors hoped to have time to sort through the issues and see if the event could be resurrected.

Since the hiatus was announced in January, Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender has been offering to work with Cruise-In organizers to find solutions and ensure that Langley's premiere tourism event survives.

"The City wants Cruise-In back. I think we're absolutely ready to do what we can," Fassbender said.

Now the mayor, the RCMP, and City of Langley managers are set to meet with Sestito and Cruise-In vice-president Keith Wilson on Sept. 8 to sort through those worries.

"It's best to have all the players in the room. Everyone has to work together," Fassbender said, anxious for the meeting. "The best way to deal with it is eye-to-eye at the same table."

A lot is riding on Wednesday's meeting, Sestito explained.

"We're going to put our concerns forward," he said, including a compromise he hopes will help ensure Cruise-In's survival.

"I'm hoping we can go in there and pound out the problems we have, and hammer something out," he added. Then, from that meeting, Sestito is optimistic he can go back to the board of directors with a recommendation to continue Cruise-In.

If it does go ahead, there will be no more Friday night cruise to the drive-in. The main car show on Saturday would continue, and the swap meet could continue on Sunday.

But admittedly, Sestito said, there has to be a number of concessions met on the other side, too, if that's going to happen. Cruise-In organizers want assurances of better communication and partnering with both the City and police.

"If everything goes well, I'm up for it. But there's no guarantees," he clarified.

If the meeting fails, Sestito said, he'll be going back with a recommendation to close up shop and disband the society.

He and other directors, who have been talking all summer, expect to be making a decision either way soon after next week's meeting.

"Right now, some of us want to go on, and some of us don't want to go on... I, myself, want to do it again. Some of the directors do want to bring it back. But we have to get through these hurdles. We have to have the support."

Sestito is hoping the absence of this year's show has given the community - including government, businesses, and spectators - an appreciation for all that goes into making it happen and the benefits it brings to the community.

"We've put a class-A show together year after year... the Cruise-In is something to brag about for Langley. The Cruise-In is big," he said, noting that it brings upwards of 100,000 people to the community, and raises upwards of $120,000 a year for local charities.

Asked what the directors are going to be doing on what would normally be Cruise-In weekend, he said the plan is to sit in their lawn chairs in front of the Cruise-In clubhouse on Fraser Highway, and watch all the classic, vintage, and custom cars roll through town.

Admittedly, even though the show's not happening in 2010, a hundred or so car enthusiasts are still expected in town on the traditional Cruise-In weekend.

"There's nothing concrete for a show in 2011," Sestito said, but he's optimistic.

So, too, is the mayor.

"I'm optimistic and hopeful that Cruise-In is going to come back next year, and that we can help them in whatever way we can," Fassbender said.