Some events you attend. Others you genuinely look forward to all year. The KC HiLites Light the Night Social, the official pre-party for Overland Expo West, falls firmly into the second category.
This year, we made the trip up to KC HiLites Headquarters in Flagstaff, and it was everything we hoped it would be. Jesse, Colton, and JP rolled out around 11:00 am with two trucks, towing the Ranger Raptor project along with our full booth setup. Canopies, tables, apparel, products, and of course, all the fixings for a S’mores bar later that night.
Once the booth was set up, we headed straight into an industry marketing brainstorm session hosted by KC in one of their conference rooms. It was a great chance to connect with other brands, share ideas, and talk shop with people who genuinely care about this industry and where it is headed.
After that, Colton and JP got to work on something we had been looking forward to. A full video tour of the KC HiLites facility. Taylor, KC’s Director of Marketing, was kind enough to be our tour guide, and he walked us through the entire operation, explaining the spaces, the processes, and everything that goes into building the lights we trust on our own builds. It was in-depth, genuinely fascinating, and a real treat to see behind the curtain of a brand with that kind of history.
Then came lunch, and KC did not hold back. Jason and Alan were manning a row of pizza ovens, turning out custom pizzas nonstop. The food was incredible, and they had a hungry audience gathered around for a good while.
With Vinny, Ryan, and Alex joining us at the event, we spent part of the afternoon interviewing attendees and catching up with the incredible lineup of brands on hand. American Adventure Lab, Centerforce Clutches, Tread Lightly, Canyon Coolers, Revolution Gears, 5.11, Historic Brewing, Falken, Murphy’s Diesel, Tembo Tusk, Dometic, Dirty Hands Happy Heart, the Isenhouser Brothers, and many more. So many of these are brands we have worked with over the years, and it is always good to see familiar faces in one place.
As the evening rolled on, we watched the raffles and auctions, then fired up our firepits and set up the Summit 4X4 S’mores bar. As always, it was a hit. There is something about good food, a warm fire, and great people that brings an event home.
Around 9:00 pm, we started packing up and headed back down the mountain. And somewhere along the way, we lost Colton. If you have seen him, let us know.
A huge thank you to KC HiLites for always counting us in, and to everyone who works to make this event and its great vibes possible. We are already looking forward to the next one.
