FRI., Aug. 18th • 5-8PM
FREE Admission & Parking
by Craig Smith
If you’re a car enthusiast, you probably already know that it’s time for the annual Show and Shine and Main Street Reunion car shows. Even if you have a casual relationship with cars of the past – say you remember that ’68 GTO your girlfriend drove in high school, or how you’d wear your boyfriend’s Letterman jacket walking down the hall to classes – these shows are the chance to see more classic cars in one place in Napa than you’ll see anywhere else.
Up to 400 remarkably pristine cars and trucks will be on display Friday and Saturday. It won’t cost you a dime to look at them, and best of all, many of them are owned by locals. “I’m always amazed to see how many great cars there are right here in Napa. When you get them altogether like that, it’s impressive,” said Chris Butler, president of the Napa Valley Cruisers, the car club whose members have been organizing the show since it began twenty years ago.
As the show has grown in popularity, it has attracted more and more car owners, some from Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. “There are four weekends of back-to-back shows in California, and some folks take their cars to all of them. We’re part of that circuit, so it means more great cars for us,” said Butler.
This year marks the ninth that the weekend begins with a Friday night Show & Shine, held at the parking lot at Soscol and Pearl, where the Cinedome used to be. “A Show & Shine event the night before the car show gives everybody another chance to see the cars in more of a party atmosphere,” said Alma Phillips, vice-president of the Cruisers. “People can check out all the great cars, enjoy something to eat and drink, plus listen to good music too. How great is that?” Show & Shine is limited to only 150 cars.
None of the organizers are quite sure when the Main Street Reunion first started. “It was either ’97 or ‘98,” recalled Craig Smith of the Downtown Napa Association. “The Cruisers had been hosting a block-long event on Main Street for several years, with help from volunteers from the Napa Fire Fighters museum, but there was only room for a couple dozen cars.” The Cruisers wanted the show to grow, but had trouble getting through the red tape to pull it off. They approached the Downtown Napa Association about partnering. “When they first approached our organization, they challenged me to help get it off the ground,” said Smith. “Later, I got teased for being in charge of securing the Three P’s: permits, police and porta-potties.”
After a six or seven year run, the Cruisers decided to take a year off, which turned into a six year break. It came back after that, stronger than ever, when the then-president of the Cruisers, Rich Garcia, decided it was time. “This is probably the twentieth show, it’s just taken twenty-five years to get to that number,” said Smith. Trophies are a big part of the event. Two will be awarded at Show & Shine, and over forty will be given at Saturday’s Main Street Reunion.
This year, the show will include a display area with six to eight electric vehicles and e-bikes. “People are increasingly interested in electric vehicles, and we are including a variety of different cars and trucks, as well as people who can talk about them,” said Bill La Liberte, the in-coming Executive Director of the Downtown Napa Association. The electric vehicles will be provided by Cool the Earth, an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to reduce carbon emissions in a fair and just marketplace.
Sponsored by Napa Property-based Improvement District (PBID), a collective of downtownproperty owners, and The Bank of Marin. Without their generous support, the show would not be possible. Visit DoNapa.com for full details.