When I saw posters for the eighth annual George Barris Cruisin’ Back to the 50s Car Show popping up in storefronts of Culver City, I quickly noted the date, May 7, and began my own personal promotional campaign for the event. I reminded friends who had previously attended the car show and invited friends who had not been. Those who had attended before needed no arm-twisting. In fact, they were grateful for the reminder and immediately committed. The overwhelming enthusiasm previous attendees have seems to be the rule.
For those who had not attended before, it took a little persuading. I don’t blame them for their apprehension. My first reaction was, “a car show?” Really? I don’t think that hanging out with the cast of Jackass 1, 2 and 3-D is for me.” But the fact that the hot rod king of Hollywood, George Barris, would be there with some of his celebrity cars made it hard to resist.
Growing up in New Jersey during the 1970s, there wasn’t a kid in my crowd who didn’t know all about Barris and his famous hot rods: the Batmobile, the Beverly Hillbillies’ jalopy, the Munster Koach and Grampa’s Drag-ula, Green Hornet’s Black Beauty, Grease Light’nin, Knight Rider’s K.I.T.T., Back to the Future’s Delorean, to name a few. The Culver City Exchange Club has been presenting the event each year since 2004 and I’ve attended them all.
Every year, the show seems to get better. Every newcomer I’ve introduced to the event is pleasantly surprised. There is something about this car show that is not like any other and I think I’ve figured out what that is: the community. The car show is held smack dab in the middle of Culver City, not at a fairground, stadium parking lot or dedicated car show venue.
The restaurants are not just open for the show but embrace the spirit of the event. One can chat up Top Chef Ben Ford as he grills his gourmet burgers in front of his restaurant. He smiles from ear to ear as he sweats over the grill, like a kid given permission to cook for the first time. Santa Maria BBQ drags its smoker onto the street. The wonderful aroma of slow-cooked ribs fills the air. The Culver City Fire Department has its doors open and the firefighters provide a full-access open house. The event’s staff – members of the Culver City Exchange Club – are familiar to many of us as. They are local business owners that community members encounter during our daily excursions around town.
And, of course, there are the cars. More than 400 hot rods date from the 1920s to present day, including a Culver City police cruiser and the department’s own hot rod police truck, adorned with flames. Rock-a-Billy music is the soundtrack provided by live bands on stage. Culver City’s roller derby squad, the Angel City Derby Girls, made an appearance. There was also a retro pin-up girl contest.
No matter who I invite, no matter what city they are from, the response is the same: “This is the best car show I’ve ever been to. Thanks for forcing me to come. Are they going to do this again next year? I’ve got to bring my friends.”
In case you are wondering why Barris hosts his car show in Culver City, I got the answer straight from him. He said that as a teenager, he liked to hang out at a Culver City diner with friends and loved to show off by racing his custom street rod through town. But his racing on the streets of Culver City didn’t fare well with the local police. Soon afterward, Barris became well-known as the hot rod-racing kid and police kept a close eye on him. His seemingly negative reputation paid off when Culver City’s movie studio, MGM, needed hot rods and young drag-race drivers for the film High School Confidential. The studio brought in Barris, who, with his brother Sam, built the cars for the movie. He and Sam were hired as the stunt drivers. From that point forward, Barris was the go-to guy whenever the entertainment industry needed anything in the way of automotive innovation.
Today, thanks to Barris’s inspiration, young people around the world can believe that the most outrageously unrealistic ideas can become reality. I’m already putting out the word about Barris’s ninth annual car show in Culver City.
