Cruisin! Friday’s Cruise Nite to feature Cruise Knights band
May 04, 2011
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Cruise Nite will welcome the Cruise Knights - the band that is - at Friday’s event that will turn Main Street into a blast of pre-1975 automotive past.
Sponsored by the Santa Paula Police Officers Association, Chamber of Commerce and City of Santa Paula, Cruise Nite will rev up to display hundreds of classic and vintage vehicles between 10th and 7th streets.
Even adjacent side streets will be bursting at the seams with the array of low-riders, muscle cars, classics and everything in between with sweet rides buffed by proud owners and ready to be admired.
Now in its13th season of family fun, Cruise Nite - held through October on the First Friday of each month - draws thousands of visitors to historic downtown Santa Paula where they stroll looking at cars, eat at local restaurants and enjoy the ambiance of the downtown architecture that has made the Central Business District a favorite of film companies.
With fresh flowers in hanging baskets and sidewalk planters reaching towards the still bright sun of the early evening, the array of rainbow colored vehicles gleam even brighter for Cruise Nite display.
Cruise Nite T-shirts - each month featuring a different vehicle and designed by noted artist Wendell Dowling - sell briskly and are used for not only attire but also for collectible quilts.
Cruise Nite has proven to be a family friendly event that was honored last year by the VC Reporter for their 25th Annual Best of the Best in the car show category.
Retired Santa Police Officers and Cruise Nite organizers Dave Anderson and Henry Aguilar coordinate the event that raises the positive profile of the city and acts as an economic boost to the downtown area businesses that cater to event visitors.
Cruise Nite has also become a huge draw for photographers both professional and amateur that often post their photos - even stream live video - of the event from the scene.
Cruise Nite starts when you get there: those displaying cars often arrive early to fill prime parking spaces and to eat at an area restaurant before taking up their posts to tell passersby about their vehicles by the official start time of 5:30 p.m. Cruise Nite ends at dusk when car owners start to exit with a rumble of engines.
