Hot rod lovers gearing up for summer car shows should pencil in
the Garlic City Fun Run.
Classic Cars Coming Downtown
Gilroy – Hot rod lovers gearing up for summer car shows should pencil in the Garlic City Fun Run.
The ninth annual event, scheduled for July 14, is expected to attract hundreds of eye-popping cars to downtown Monterey Street and will offer a few ticklers for the city’s famed Garlic Festival, which follows two weeks later.
“This is going to be showing off our new streets and our new sidewalks,” said Steve Ashford, a downtown business owner and one of the event organizers. “This is definitely an event you’re not going to want to miss.”
A slew of classic cars, jeeps, so-called “rock crawlers” and other vehicles will have more space to maneuver this year, thanks to a downtown remodeling that eliminated a winding median along Monterey Street. Sprawling new sidewalks offer plenty of room for vendors to lay out booths and visitors to camp out in chairs.
This year’s event features Garlic Festival traditions old and new. The flaming Garlic Bulb will again be lit at the Fun Run this year before relocating to Christmas Hill Park for the weekend festival at the end of July. Visitors can also sample garlic fries, the newest addition to menu at Gourmet Alley, the massive food operation that feeds tens of thousands of festival-goers over a three-day weekend.
To register to show a car at the Fun Run, call Ashford at 842-8236. The $35 registration fee includes a free T-shirt.
Homeless Agency Chief Resigns
Gilroy – Barry Del Buono, president and CEO of EHC LifeBuilders, a nonprofit that provides housing and opportunities to the homeless, announced Friday he would be stepping down as the agency’s president “to pursue nonprofit work on a national level,” he wrote. Del Buono will be temporarily replaced by Jennifer Hodgson Loving, the group’s current chief operating officer, while its board of directors searches nationwide for Del Buono’s successor. He was the agency’s first employee, and has worked at EHC LifeBuilders for more than 25 years. He will remain with the nonprofit until July 31 to help during the transition, and serve as senior philanthropy advisor until January 2008.
Biker Rally Coming Next Weekend
Hollister – There are six days left before the Hollister Motorcycle Rally begins, pushed to the weekend of July 6-8 since Independence Day falls on Wednesday this year.
The rally is expected to draw tens of thousands of people, and many streets in the downtown Hollister area will be closed to traffic during those three days.
This year, San Benito Street will be filled with vendors, and will be closed between Fourth and South streets, said Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller. According to the rally map, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh streets also will be filled with booths or parked motorcycles.
MACSA Celebrates Influential Latinos
Gilroy – Two public health advocates from the South Valley have been included in the list of 100 most influential Latinos compiled by the Mexican American Community Services Agency. Dolores Alvarado, a member of the management team of the county Office of Disaster Medical Services, and Lillian Castillo, a nutritionist with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, are nominees as the most influential Silicon Valley Latino in the field of Technology, Health and Science.
The awards will be presented tonight at the Mexican Heritage Plaza, 1700 Alum Rock Road, San Jose.
The event runs from 5pm to midnight; tickets are $150.
Details: Maria Garcia at 928-1122, ext. 1134.
Free Movies in Downtown Gilroy
Gilroy – The city continues its free Hot Rods and Cool Flics weekly movie series the week following the Fourth of July. Residents are invited to set up a chair in the mural parking lot, at the corner of Fifth and Monterey streets, and to bring a bowl to enjoy the free popcorn. Classic cars will also be on display starting at 5pm. The movie will begin at dusk.
Future scheduled movies:
– July 11: “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”
– July 18: “The Absent-Minded Professor”
– July 25: “Now and Forever”
– Aug. 1: “That Darn Cat”
– Aug. 8: “A Night at the Opera”
– Aug. 15: “The Parent Trap”
Details: Linda at 842-8236
One Man’s Trash, Another’s Treasure
San Martin – The Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter will hold its annual rummage sale from 8am to 4pm, today and Sunday, at the shelter, 12750 Murphy Ave., San Martin. Stop by to find a treasure or two.
Details: (408) 778-2654, www.fosmas.petfinder.org
Send news items to City Editor Robert Airoldi. FAX to 842-2206, mail to Gilroy Dispatch, 6400 Monterey Road, Gilroy, CA 95020, or e-mail ed****@****ic.com.
