For the first time, the Tomato Festival will be hosting a car show at the Los Banos Fairgrounds on Oct. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. As attendees pass the O’Banion building and approach the gates, they’ll see classic cars lined up on the left-hand side.
The general theme of the car show is classics, but Tomato Festival Committee Member Yovany Lopez confirmed in an email to the Westside Express that all cars are welcome.
According to Tomato Festival Committee Member Allison Gomes, “We are expecting, hopefully, between 20 to 25 cars.” The cars will compete for the top three spots, each being awarded a plaque.
The co-sponsor of the event is Westside Auto Club. “They have been reaching out to other clubs and just trying to get cars involved,” Gomes said. “They just wanted to help us out in getting some community involvement.”
Westside Auto Club hosts an annual Linguica Run in Gustine, where it holds its meetings. “They raise money for scholarships and donate back to the community,” Gomes said. The club has been running since 1948, making it 76 years old.
“It’s our first year, so we are excited to see the turnout and the different cars. Really just put on a different event for the community and see how that contributes to the festival in general,” Gomes said of the club’s participation in the Tomato Festival.
Cars will be charged $20 to preregister and $25 the day of the show. Pre-registration applications are due to the Chamber of Commerce by Oct. 12.
