In 2008 Darryl Nance, the owner of D&P Classic Chevy, was approached by city staff from the City of Huntington Beach about organizing a new car show.
Huntington Beach has one of the most beautiful beaches on the west coast. There is also a long stretch of the coastline that has a parking lot adjacent to the beach that would facilitate a large car show. It was determined that the best time of year for the car show would be in the fall after the busy beach crowd season. Many factors came into play and it was determined that the best time for the show would be in early November near Veteran's Day.
Darryl decided that the car show would be dedicated as a Veteran's Day car show. The first event was scheduled for November 13, 2010. After over a year of work and the help of many volunteers the first show was a huge success. Nearly 500 classic cars of all types showed up for 1st event. There were numerous members of our military and law enforcement organizations in attendance at the show. There were vendors of all types, great food and rock & roll, The USMC color guard from Camp Pendleton was present along with the "Fueled by the Fallen" commerative law enforcement vehicles. Our generous sponsors including Meguiar's, Jack's Surfboards, Delillo Chevrolet, Danchuk Manufacturing, AAA of Southern California, Hurst Performance Vehicles, and D&P Classic Chevy provided support to allow the show to occur. The event also became a dedicated "Toys for Tots" event to collect toys for less fortunate children in our communities.
We were fortunate to have a great weather day for our first show and the result was thousands of spectators who came by to check out the great cars on the beach. There was a large amount of press coverage from not only Southern California, but from throughout the world. As it turned out many members of the international media had been in Las Vegas for the SEMA show the week before and they decided to travel to Huntington Beach to check out the show.
As we look forward to our 2nd annual event we have been fortunate to add some great new sponsors including the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort, Huntington Beach Toyota, Mckenna Volkswagen, and Surf City Nissan.
We are always looking for volunteers to help with organization and show operations so feel free to inquire about opportunities to become part of one of the greatest new car shows.
Future plans for the show include "growing" the show into a 2-3 day event. The beautiful beach setting is the perfect location to enjoy the beach and take a short vacation in Surf City. Huntington Beach offers numerous amenities including great restaurants and businesses that are nearby. The Hilton Waterfront Resort is the host hotel for the event and offers room specials for show attendees.
I would like to thank you all for your support of the show and I look forward to your attendance at this great show for many years to come. Feel free to inquire for more information or about sponsorship opportunities. There are also openings for trophy class sponsors and raffle prizes are appreciated.
