SAN FERNANDO : Festival to Celebrate Culture of Cruising

San Fernando merchants will feature the best of the “cruising culture” in an Oldies Music Festival and Car Show to be held next month.

“We’re putting this event together to bring people back into San Fernando,” said Dennis Levine, owner of a local retail store and a member of the San Fernando Downtown Merchants Assn.

Cruising has been a tradition in the San Fernando area for generations, and Levine said the event was geared to recapturing the best of the cruising culture.

“It’s lost its innocence over the years,” Levine said of cruising. “We’re trying to bring it back, give it a positive viewpoint.”

The festival on Oct. 16 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. will include nearly 150 show cars, dating from the 1930s to the present. They will be on display on Brand Boulevard between Pico and Truman streets.

Arts and crafts and 50 booths selling food will be set up on nearby San Fernando Road. The festival also will include rides for children and a petting zoo.

Levine said merchants hope to make the festival an annual event, something that would help to define San Fernando. It may be held twice a year, he said.

“This is going to be the largest car show in the Valley,” he predicted.

A pre-festival dance will be held Friday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the LGT Vegas restaurant, 1100 Sepulveda Blvd., Mission Hills.

The cars being shown are from throughout the Los Angeles area. Those who want to show their cars in the festival should contact Mando Tejeda at (818) 727-3699 or (818) 896-3849.