CRUISIN’ FOR A CURE
CALIFORNIA’S ORANGE COUNTY CONJURES UP THOUGHTS OF BLAZING SUN AND SUMMER DAYS, AND THAT’S WHAT CRUISIN’ FOR A CURE OFFERS — ALONGSIDE RAISING AWARENESS FOR A VERY GOOD CAUSE
As the primary driving force behind the world famous Repco Beach Hop festival, Noddy Watts is a man who needs no introduction in this magazine. However, during the 360-odd days of the year that Beach Hop isn’t taking place, Noddy can be found playing tour guide for groups of people lucky enough to secure a spot on his Kiwis on Tour trips. All of those US tours are based around a major car show, with the Kiwis on Tour West Coaster tour based on the annual Cruisin’ for a Cure show. Held at the impressive Orange County fairgrounds, this is the world’s largest one-day charity car show, with well over 3000 cars in attendance. Since Noddy’s the driving force behind these tours, we figure it’s best to hand the narration reins over to him right about now … This was the third time that we’ve taken the tour there, and it has quickly become my favourite event in the SoCal area. Why? Well, first of all, it’s for a great cause that we can all relate to — prostate cancer. There is free prostate-specificantigen (PSA) testing at the show, and the line to get tested this year was long — which was impressive, considering the ‘long blue glove’ stigma most blokes associate with the test.
You might also notice that the show has the word ‘Cruisin’’ in its name, and that’s just what the cars do. A cruise route is marked out within the showgrounds so that cars can cut a few laps before returning to their park. It’s a great way to see it all, just sitting there and watching the cars cruise by. With everything you could imagine, from ground-thumping blown Hemi street gassers to sedate stockers, there is always something to keep that smile on your face.
This year saw a big improvement, with live music in three different entertainment areas, plus an awesome a cappella group moving around and breaking into song. The music was first class, and covered a great variety, including Motown, rock ’n’ roll, and country rock. It was all too easy to sit there in the warm Californian sun, listen to the music, enjoy a cold adult beverage, and watch the cars go by.
One particular highlight among the many was the Meguiar’s Hangar. This is a large indoor building displaying elite cars and bikes, many of which have been seen in magazines and on TV shows. The amazing thing is that these cars aren’t roped off, so the large crowd can get up close and personal to them.
Arlen Ness had a handful of his incredible motorcycles on show inside the hangar — if you’re not familiar with them, these are true pieces of art. We also witnessed the unveiling of a ’56 Chev built by RMD Garage, as seen on the Velocity TV channel. The young owner, who works as a designer for Nike, was speechless when the covers came off the Chev.
Also located inside the hangar were a panel of six icons from the US car scene, including Repco Beach Hop 15 guest, and host of Meguiar’s Car Crazy,
Barry Meguiar, and John D’Agostino, who had two amazing cars on show and is busting to get to Repco Beach Hop 19 next year. Members of the
panel were each interviewed about their history, where they’re at now, and what they feel that our car lifestyle will look like in the future. Very entertaining with plenty of laughs is the best way to describe the panel with these legends.
True to form, this year’s Cruisin’ for a Cure show was held on the fourth weekend of September, giving a bonus in terms of the weather — it’s not too hot, unlike when many shows are held, earlier in the year. We’re looking forward to returning in 2020 with our next West Coaster tour!
If you’re interested in heading along to the next one, or checking out the Kiwis on Tour packages, visit kiwisontour.com.