West Coast Kustoms cruises into Santa Maria for annual weekend car show
Dave Alley
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – One of the biggest yearly events held in Santa Maria rolls into the city today with the arrival of hundreds of cars that are part the 44th Annual West Coast Kustoms Cruisin’ Nationals.
The popular car show features one-of-a-kind customized cars and will run Friday through Sunday.
Held each Memorial Day weekend, the show attracts hundreds of entries, as well as thousands of visitors to the city.
“We expect to be 800 cars at least registered for the show,” said Randy Bond, West Coast Kustoms Cruisin’ Nationals representative. “This show is known for custom cars. Custom cars are are any car that has had extensive body modifications to change the the look of them and every one of these cars are considered extreme custom cars. People from all over the world literally bring their custom cars to this show to debut them to the rest of the world, so this show is known for, the greatest custom cars in the world.”
Over the next few days, customized cars will be seen driving all over the city, especially along the busy Broadway corridor around the Historic Santa Maria Inn, which serves as the official host site.
One of the most popular events in the car show is the Friday night cruise along Broadway, which begins at 7 p.m. and is free for spectators to attend.
On Friday morning, several blocks of Broadway were already filled with chairs along the sidewalk as spectators arrived early to save a spot for the show.
“We flew in from Colorado yesterday and got up early this morning to come down here to get seats,” said David Valdez, visiting from Lakewood, Colorado. “I think this is the best show in the country. I love it. I love looking at customs. I think they’re the prettiest cars you could build.”
Over the weekend, the model car show will be held at the Santa Maria Fairpark, where spectators will be able to see all of the cars up close and personal.
An entry fee is required for the model car show, which runs 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information on the West Coast Kustoms Cruisin’ Nationals, click here to visit the official website for the event.