Rods and Roses Roars Into Town

An estimated 12,000 people strolled Linden Avenue in Carpinteria on Saturday, July 2, to view more than 200 American classic, hot rod, and custom cars at the 19th annual Rods and Roses Car Show. Participants at this sold out event hailed from several Western states.

Especially popular were a couple of vehicles displayed by The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. There was a 1900 Overland Custom covered wagon manure spreader, built by George Barris and given as a birthday gift by Bob Hope to John Wayne. Spectators also marveled at Petersen’s 1959 Chevrolet Pickup Triton, a custom combination of a 1959 Chevrolet El Camino and a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado.

Michael Hammer brought out three custom restored cars from his collection: a 1929 Ford Custom Tudor hot rod, a 1951 Chevrolet Delux Custom “lead sled,” and a 1957 Chevrolet Gasser. He, along with his custom builder Andy Lowry, were on hand greeting the car enthusiasts. The Tudor was a five-year project, the other two each took two years.

Fourteen Special Presentation Awards were announced at the show and the winner was given a unique trophy crafted by Abraham “Beno” Coleman out of old auto parts and tools. Trophies also were awarded by local merchants — 47 of them selected their favorite entry to receive a Hot Rod Merchant Trophy.

The People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Venoco, went to Alex Rodriguez of Oxnard for his 1972 Chevrolet El Camino. Another coveted award was the “Mr. Indy 500” Award, presented in honor of Andy Granatelli and chosen each year by close friends and family as a vehicle he would have especially appreciated. This year’s recipient was Bob Paterson of Goleta for his1932 Ford Roadster.

The Future Farmers of America (FFA) regional chapter sold beautiful floral bouquets at the show to raise funds for scholarships. The flowers were donated by Ocean Breeze International, Myriad Flowers, Maximum Nursery, and Everbloom Flowers. The FFA also received $2,500 from the Armand Hammer Foundation. Several area nonprofits set up a booth at the show to share with the public information about their organization.

The event was produced by Mike Lazaro of Carp Events.