Taft Chamber of Commerce is having its first annual Rails to Trails Classic Car, Truck and Bike Show this Saturday, June 13, 2009 from 10am until 5pm.
The event is being held on the historic Taft Rails-to-Trails between 10th and 4th Streets along the walk path.
“My vision,” says Cherie Layton “Was to have an event that the entire community could enjoy without having to pay anything.” Layton is one of the organizers of the event, a Chamber board member, and supervisor of Taft Chevron Valley Credit Union.
Registration will be from 7am – 9am for participants. The cost is $20.00 for Pre-registered cars, and $25.00 the day of the event. It is free for the community and spectators.
According to Layton, the show has 97 pre-registered cars as of Tuesday, June 9th. She believes there will be about 80 more cars registered the day of the event. People are bringing vehicles from Kernville, Santa Maria, Paso Robles and Tulare, not to mention all over Kern County.
In addition to the car show, there will be tours of Taft available for $1.50 per person. The tours will be at 10am, 11am, 12pm, and 1pm. Each tour will be approximately 45 minutes long. The tours will visit Taft monuments such as the Oil Museum, The Historic Fort, and the Fox Theater.
According to Layton, there will also be vendor’s booths, including Pit Stop Bar-B-Que and roasted corn. There will be soda, water, and a beer garden sponsored by the Tumbleweed Cafe. There will be a booth for Tommy’s Toys, which sells Hot Wheels cars and Die Cast cars, Kaotic T-Shirts, and Grill Shot Graphix, among others.
Lee’s Rod and Restoration will be featuring a 1901 Yale, the first sports car. They will have cars from 1901 to the 1909 Chevrolet Corvette. There will also be a 1964 Ford Victoria Hearse, 1967 Camero and a 2009 Camero. The Truck show will
include late Ford Model A’s, Ford Model T’s, Chevrolet’s and Roadsters. The Bike show will include Harley Davidson’s, street bikes and Customer Choppers.
“Come out and just take a look,” says Layton, “See the time, the investment, put into these cars. Just enjoy the day. We need this, for the community.”
There will be a pamphlet and passport for those who attend the car show. The pamphlet has historical facts about Taft, to educate visitors and resident. The passport will enter people into a drawing if they choose to participate.
Those who would like to take part in the passport drawing will receive the passport and take it to local businesses to have it stamped. Additional tickets for the drawings will be given out for complete passports, and purchases made from local businesses. Some of the businesses include Napa Auto and Truck Parts, Miller’s Beauty Supply, Kids Fantasy, Jo’s Family Restaurant, Domino’s Pizza and Taft Crude Coffee House.