The Kirkland Police Department’s cadet program will host its seventh annual Cadet Car Show on Sept. 20 at the Kirkland Justice Center to raise funds for the volunteer youth program, Officer Tiffany Tremblay told the podcast audience.

The event will be open to the public, and organizers said vehicle entry fees are low to encourage participation. "To enter a vehicle, it's only $30 after September 8, but I think it's 25 still until then," Officer Tiffany Tremblay, neighborhood resource officer for the Kirkland Police Department and a cadet mentor, said on the July 31 episode of This Week in Kirkland. Tremblay said public attendance is free.

The car show is a fundraiser for the cadet program and will include multiple award categories — including People’s Choice, Cadet Choice, sponsor’s choice and a KPD command choice — and trophies designed by cadets. "That will be designed by our cadets," Tremblay said, describing a custom trophy entrants will compete to win. Cadets will also vote as a group for the Kirkland Cadet’s Choice award.

Cadet Sergeant Ethan Keegan described the cadet program as hands-on training for young people. "I'm involved in the Kirkland Cadets," Keegan said. Keegan said cadets meet twice monthly during the school year and more often in summer; he said, "It's the first and third Thursday of every month" and that sessions run from 5 to 7 p.m.

Tremblay said the department sends cadets to external training. "They are gearing up… their police academy. So they are gearing up, yep, and learning all sorts of stuff throughout the year," she said, referring to the Washington State Explorers Academy; the program this year will send three Kirkland cadets and the academy runs for a week. Tremblay said the cadet program’s participants "age out at 21."

Organizers encouraged families and car owners to register before the early-fee deadline to secure the lower entry price. The podcast noted the Kirkland Justice Center as the car show location and said the event follows City Hall for All on Sept. 13, which organizers expect to draw a large crowd.

Discussion: podcast hosts and guests described the cadet program’s activities (crime-scene exercises, traffic-stop training, SWAT and FBI demonstrations, and interview/interrogation practice) and emphasized the program’s role as community volunteer experience. No formal council action or city policy change was reported during the segment; the car show and cadet activities are organized by the police department and program volunteers.

Details and how to participate: organizers said vehicle registration and event information will be posted on the city’s event pages and in the podcast show notes. The entry-fee window and Sept. 20 date were announced on the July 31 episode.