GILROY
– Historic downtown Gilroy will be rocking to the music and
rolling with classic hot rods this Saturday for the third annual
Garlic City Fun Run.
GILROY – Historic downtown Gilroy will be rocking to the music and rolling with classic hot rods this Saturday for the third annual Garlic City Fun Run.
Monterey Street will be closed to traffic between Third and Eighth streets, while owners of more than 350 classic cars will show off their beauties, said Kristen Carr, executive director of Gilroy’s Visitors Bureau.
The show is co-sponsored by South Valley Street Rods and the Downtown Association.
“We’re all a group of guys who never want to grow up, and we love our cars,” said Carl Swank, president of the South Valley Street Rods and owner of his own Model ‘A’ car that he will bring to the show.
Car owners come from all over Santa Clara County to show off their Fords and Chevies to the public. Some people spend $25,000 up to $300,000 on the cars they will be bringing, Swank said.
“Everybody’s car is different and reflects the person who owns it. We like to call it our sport,” said Rick Chamblin, co-chairman for the Garlic City Fun Run.
If people are interested in showing a car on Saturday, they must arrive at the Gilroy Train Station on Monterey Street at 1 p.m. and pay a $20 entrance fee, Chamblin said. From there drivers will parade their cars downtown and find places to park.
The Fun Run will be open to the public from 3:30 until 10 p.m., and admission is free. Visitors can enjoy two entertainment stages with local groups performing music throughout the day. Among those playing are Five Minutes to Freedom, Juz Cuz, the Acoustic Preservation Society, Johnny Rockets and the Thrust and Don Prieto as Elvis. For the finale, ’50s group Sha-Boom will be playing at 8 p.m. on the North Stage.
“This is so much fun. Rock n’ roll and cars really go together,” Swank said.
The Garlic City Fun Run is also one of the kick-off events for the Garlic Festival, and everyone is invited to come and watch 2003 Garlic Festival President Janie Mardesich light the garlic bulb. People will also be able to enjoy food at the mini-version of Gourmet Alley.
“We have expanded the foods being offered this year, because so many people have come to eat in the last two years,” Carr said.
The Garlic City Fun Run is now one of the most sucessful events held downtown. Along with offering people in the community a fun time, it also exposes many visitors to the downtown shops.
“Any kind of exposure is good,” said Joe Duarte, co-owner of Monterey Street Antiques. “After the event, the past two years we would get a little more business and some people would come back and buy things.”
Employees at the Visitors Bureau hope that if merchants have their stores open the public might take notice of restaurants and stores they never knew existed, said Carr.
In addition to checking out the shops and enjoying the food this year the South Valley Street Rods will have a drawing for car show participants, giving away a 350-type transmission valued at $1,000 and a 350 Chevy Engine valued at $1,500. There will also be a raffle that the general public can enter, Swank said. A portion of the money generated from the car show and the raffle will be saved for scholarships next year, said Chamblin.
Both the Downtown Association and the South Valley Street Rods want this to be a family event and alcohol free. No alcoholic beverages will be sold on the streets.
“This is such a great thing for people of the community, free music, great food and good looking cars,” said Swank.
