San Jose will be a car lover’s heaven this weekend

For better or worse, San Jose’s always had a thing for cars. The downtown cruising culture of the 1950s and ’60s gave way to lowrider shows of the ’70s. Even the electric car boom of the past decade has had an impact. You’re just as likely to see the latest Tesla parked outside Santana Row’s Hotel Valencia as you are a Ferrari.

All that automobile affection makes this weekend a real treat for car lovers. Hot San Jose Nights is hosting its annual Airport Day on Saturday at Reid-Hillview Airport — the event moved from July to September to take advantage of cooler weather — and the Goombahs Car Club is bringing back the Cruise for a Cause show in Willow Glen on Sunday. Between the two, scores of classic cars, hot rods and custom jobs will be on display (and at Airport Day, there will be aircraft and military vehicles, too).

If your environmentally minded conscious is nagging you about glorifying the automobile, remember that some of these vehicles are real works of art — carefully maintained, custom painted and often tricked out at considerable expense by their owners. Gene Winfield, a nationally known car customizer whose work has been featured in movies and TV shows, will be at Cruise for a Cause.

Both events have their philanthropic side, too: Airport Day’s is supporting the Valley Medical Center Foundation as its nonprofit partner, and both shows will be collecting for Second Harvest Food Bank of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.

Airport Day, which offers free admission and parking, runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday (Get details at www.hotsanjosenights.com) Cruise for a Cause takes over Lincoln Avenue from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, and you can find out more at www. goombahscarclub.com.

STRANGE BREWS >> South Bay dog owners who love beer can head to the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds on Saturday for Puptoberfest, a dog-friendly beer garden at the Expo Hall Food Circle featuring local craft brews from Hermitage, Hapa’s, Camino, Santa Clara Valley and Golden State.

There will also be food available for people and spent-grain dog treats from Madee’s Dog Bakery. It runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and repeats Sept. 23.

And if you’re in the East Bay on Saturday, nearly two dozen brewers, including Altamont, Lagunitas and Almanac, will be pouring on the deck of the USS Hornet aircraft carrier and museum in Alameda.

The third annual Battlestar Classic, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will also include a cornhole tournament and silent disco. Tickets to the fundraiser for the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum are available online at www.uss-hornet.org.

BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL >> The New Museum of Los Gatos turns its gaze on Los Gatos High’s more than 100 years of history with its newest exhibition, “Sis Boom Bah,” which opens with a celebration starting at noon Saturday. The Los Gatos High marching band, color guard and cheer team will be out there, with Wildcats service clubs and the Treatbot karaoke ice cream truck. Get more details at www.numulosgatos.org.

Meanwhile, Independence High School has made a couple of new additions to its upcoming all-classes reunion, where it will attempt to set a Guinness World Record. Independence is creating an Athletic Hall of Fame and plans to induct its first class that day and also will be opening a time-capsule sealed in 1995. You can still register for the Oct. 20 reunion at the school at the East Side Union High School District Education Foundation website, www.esuhsdef.org/ihs-reunion.