July 26, 2007

Auto festival revs up in Almaden

South Hills Community Church hosts 140 cars for Almaden community

By Christina Brown
Times Intern

Several thousand people cruised into South Hills Community Church’s Almaden Valley Auto Festival on Saturday, July 21 to view old and new cars alike.

A large majority of attendees at the Almaden Valley Auto Festival were families. There was a jump house, remote control cars and games for the children to enjoy, as well as a band and a barbecue. Photos by Christina Brown

This year’s car show, the biggest in its history, featured about 140 cars built between 1910 to 2007. Attendees also enjoyed a barbecue dinner, band and games for the children.

“We had 50 more cars than we ever had,” Dave Weiss, one of the originators and the “car guy,” said, and he thinks that helped draw more people. Also the event was held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. instead of in the afternoon as in the past, so it was much cooler.

This show is “strictly to benefit the neighborhood,” Weiss said. “This is not a Goodyear car show, just a friends and family car show. [There are] no prizes. It’s just relaxed and fun with people sharing their cars.”

This is the seventh year South Hills has put on the auto show, and everyone agreed this was the best year yet.

Mark Longshore, who brought his 1955 Chevrolet, has gone to every show since it began in 2000, and he said this is “definitely the best one ever.” As vice chair of the San Jose Motofest at Cathedral of Faith, Longshore even consulted Weiss on how to structure their show.

The show had a wide variety of automobiles from farm-related equipment from the 1920s to hot rods from the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s that have been fixed up, to a Model A from 1912 along with a brand new Viper.

Vern Goode brought his 1957 Chevy Bel Aire two-door hard top and 1957 Chevy pick-up truck. He has been to just about every show in northern California, but he feels this is one of his favorites. “The atmosphere is one of the best in northern California,” Goode said. “There is no pressure. We just all get together to show our cars. It’s tons of fun.”

Allan Greenberg, a past president of the Model T Club, has brought his 1926 Model T Ford Speedster the past few years. Greenberg does a lot of parades and PR work with the Model T club, and really enjoyed showing his car to all of the people at the festival. “People really enjoy seeing the old cars,” he said.

Attendees of the Almaden Valley Auto Festival July 21 mingle with the car owner to get more information.

The Iconics played throughout the event, performing a good variety of ‘60s and ‘70s music. “It was just a bunch of guys that play on Sunday morning,” Weiss said. “They were very, very good, with a fun variety of oldies, mild rock and roll and Motown.”

There was also a barbecue prepared by the men’s ministry. Robert Stinson, who was in charge of the food and has been on the planning committee for the past five years, was also pleased with the turnout. “We served over 500 meals!” Stinson said.

With a jump house, remote control cars and games, the event was a perfect attraction for families. “[There was] a real cross section of people—families, individuals, car enthusiasts, people who came to enjoy the band,” said Longshore.

“The event is meant to be “informal and pure fun,” said Weiss. “It’s mostly families, several groups from car clubs, but that was a small percentage of attendees. It’s lots of people from the church or people from the community that we have gotten to know over the years.”