Cruise Nite, Ag Museum Concert,
Aviation Museum opening triple weekend fun
August 01, 2014
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Friday’s Cruise Nite will kick off a weekend of triple fun when Johnny & The Love Handles takes to the outdoor plaza in an event that will feature girl cheer groups previewing all their spirited moves and a special array of race cars that will fill historic downtown Santa Paula.
Tonight’s Cruise Nite will be held on East Main Street between 7th and 10th streets; so popular is the monthly display that more pre-1975 cars also spill onto various adjacent side streets.
Cruise Nite offers a free night out on the town with great music, unique shopping and plenty of fine dining with many restaurants offering Cruise Nite specials. Each month a new Cruise Nite T-shirt featuring a regularly displayed car and designed by Wendell Dowling is offered for sale.
Tonight will be a special Racecars Night featuring many of those daring drag strip cars.
Otherwise, Cruise Nite offers an array of pre-1975 vehicles that stretch for blocks.
Cruise Nite runs from about 5 p.m. to dusk.
The Agriculture Museum of Ventura County will feature from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., a swinging celebration of American Jazz performed by the acclaimed band Coda. Standards from the Great American Songbook by musicians such as Johnny Mercer and Cole Porter, as well as modern works by Dave Brubeck, Bill Evan, Miles Davis and Pat Metheny get a new life when performed by the acclaimed Coda.
At 7 p.m. the food truck “It’s In the Sauce” will serve Texas-style barbeque dinner items that can be brought into the air-conditioned museum - located at 926 Railroad Ave. - to enjoy the performance.
Admission is $10 general public; $2 child with adult; $5 Museum member.
Sunday will be the grand opening of the Aviation Museum of Santa Paula and the whole community is invited to the free celebration!
The world famous Santa Paula Airport opened in August 1930 with a dedication celebration that included air races, aerobatics and parachuting, a visit from the Goodyear Blimp, and many famous aviators of the time.
On Sunday the official opening of the Aviation Museum of Santa Paula will recreate that look and feel by encouraging those that attend to wear costumes and clothing appropriate to the era.
The August 3 Museum opening will be held during the airport’s regular First Sunday Open House with a brief program beginning at 11 a.m. recognizing the official opening of the museum.
There will be children’s activities, vintage aircraft to enjoy and an array of vehicles displayed including those from the Model A Club, Model T Club, Tri Valley Mustang Club, Porsche Club LA Region and the Topa Topa Flywheelers and more.
The original Aviation Museum of Santa Paula (AMSP) opened in February 2000 with The Chain of Hangars offering numerous exhibits as well as a detailed history of the airport’s creation, the latter now the focus of the museum’s first permanent building, located at the airport’s entrance.
The Chain of Hangars will also be open for tours Sunday and the Tram is also available.
The museum is open to the public the First Sunday of each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For kids age 8 - 17, the Young Eagles EAA Chapter 723 program offers free plane rides; for more information and to schedule a reservation contact Neil Fowler at (805) 647-6994.
Visitors are encouraged to stop by The Museum’s Gift Shop located in Hangar Number Six to receive a map of the hangars and view local artifacts. The shop also sells T-shirts, hats, aviation related items; all proceeds go to the Museum.
Refreshments are available for purchase and will be catered by Java Cat, Blue Light Food Truck, Keep on Grubbin’ and Desserts To Die For; Café Flight 126 is also open to serve visitors.
