The NorCal Car Show season has begun!

From now until about October, there are multiple car shows, cruises and swap meets in Northern California each and every weekend. Here are some of the events taking place this weekend with links to their websites:

The 26th Annual Grass Valley Car Show is Saturday from 10:00am to 3:00pm in downtown Grass Valley.

This Saturday, the Bombshells are putting on a Rockabilly and Hot Rod Festival in Brisbane (near South San Francisco).

The Snowball Rally
The Snowball Rally

The Snowball Rally a vintage car Rally from Sacramento to North Shore, Lake Tahoe takes place Saturday and Sunday.

This weekend is the 62nd Annual Fair Oak Spring Fest presented by the Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce with a Show-N-Shine on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Howard Kirkland and his well known Old Yeller G.M.C.
Howard Kirkland and his well known Old Yeller G.M.C.

The Kirkland Ranch Truck Show at 11125 Courier Rd in Plymouth is put on by the Central Valley American Truck Historical Society.

On April 29th – May 1st in Auburn, CA. is the 9th Annual Gold Country Spring Speed Weekend 2011 put on by the F.A.S.T. NorCal.

Pacific Coast Dream Machines is Sunday, May 1st at the Half Moon Bay Airport from 10am – 4pm.

Spring Turlock 2011, a collector car and parts swap meet is Sunday from 6am to 4pm at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds at 900 N. Broadway, Turlock.

Benicia Classic Car Show 2010
Benicia Classic Car Show 2010

The 18th Annual Benicia Classic Car Show is Sunday, May 1st from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the Waterfront in Historic Downtown Benicia.

If anyone has information on upcoming events, shows or races please email me at:
tnewey@norcalcarculture.com

Turlock Swap Meet 2011

Turlock Swap Meet - January 2011

It was time again for the Modesto A’s famous Turlock Swap Meet at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds. My son Ryan and I got up early on a foggy Saturday morning, a little over a week ago, and headed to Turlock. It had been over 10 years since I last attended. We stopped in Ripon at the Flying J truck stop to pick up my brother Dan Newey. He parked his 10 car auto transport truck and we proceded to Turlock. As we took the Fulkerth exit, I remembered the first time I went to Turlock. There were no shopping centers on Fulkerth, just fields and people were parked everywhere and walking towards the fairgrounds. We then followed the signs to the designated parking lot which was of course, already full. We turned right on Golden State Blvd. and finally found an open spot in a residential area about 3 blocks from the front gate. Not too bad!

Rich Newey's 1970 Chev Monte Carlo

Our first goal was to find my other brother, Rich, and our friend Brad. Rich brought his 1970 Chevy Monte Carlo and Brad brought his 66 Ford Bronco to sell. Rich had tried to sell his Monte Carlo at Hot August Nights and at the Good Guys show in Pleasanton but by noon the first day in Turlock, it was sold. Ryan, Dan and I took off to look at all the cars and to check out the swap area. I couldn’t believe how crowded it was. It was a cold, foggy morning and there were people everywhere. The rows between the swap spaces were packed with people as were the lines for food. They were selling “bricks” of curly fries so Ryan had to go investigate.

Ryan with his brick of curly fries.

You can see pictures of a lot of the cool cars we saw in our photo gallery but here are a few of our favorites:

My Favorite!
One low wagon!
1951 Studebaker Champion
1953 Buick Roadmaster
1930 Ford Hot Rod Speedster

It was cold, but it was a good day, lots of cars, lots of parts, and good food. Maybe we’ll see you in Turlock next year!

To be ready for next year, check out their website: http://www.turlockswapmeet.com/.