Cars, rides, hot rods and wheels. Tower District revamped car shows with the “Culture and Chrome” meetup on Mar. 29. The event lasted from 9 a.m until 3 p.m and was accompanied by a shining sun and a cool breeze.
Tower District had been home to car shows for decades but during those years, the makes and models of cars were limited to pre-1975 “classics” despite dwindling in attendees.
This year, the Hot Rod Coalition hosted the show because the previous hosts, Hot Rods of Fresno, relocated, according to Anthony Granata, Hot Rod Coalition member and Fresno State Alumni.
An emphasis was placed on the diversity in the area, which is why the show was open to any makes and models.
“So Tower is a place rich in culture, right? It’s a melting pot of all socioeconomic levels, ethnicities, and so that’s what we want to be reflected at the show,” Granata said.
From a 1923 Ford T Bucket to 2016 Harley Davidson motorcycles, Granata’s words rang true throughout the streets of Tower District.
Around 350 cars were showcased, along with dozens of vendors on top of the businesses already in Tower District.
From early in the morning until the middle of the afternoon, the district was filled with thousands of people admiring the vehicles and taking pictures.
Some cars had paintjobs with detailed and sophisticated imagery while others had shiny, black, intimidating coats of paint.
Marie Gonzalez was out thrifting with her friend when she noticed the car show and began taking photos.
“I really like that Tower District is trying to do more things and bring people out to the area again, because it’s just so beautiful out here that we need to bring more to the area,” Gonzalez said.
While many were in awe of the sweet rides, some were there for the people.
David Barron is a member of the Pharaohs Car Club’s Clovis chapter and has been to multiple car shows throughout the area. So he had seen most of the cars before.
To him, these shows are about socializing and stories.
“I like to meet people,” Barron said. “I like to hear stories. People will come up to you and they’ll tell you that their grandfathers taught them how to drive in a truck like this on the farm.”
Dozens of more stories could be heard from happy car owners throughout the whole event.
In the future, Granata wants to gather more volunteers to improve the event and display the cars in a more traditional car show style.
