(Photos by Darr Hawthorne) – There’s a lot to do on Labor Day weekend, one of the traditions of that particular weekend is the annual Ventura Nationals, held at Seaside Park on the beach in Ventura, California. This is the 16th year for the show with low riders, pickups, roadsters, bombers, coupes, vintage bikes, trick paint jobs, vendors and only a couple of muscle cars.
Lacking in recent years was a showing of old-style hot rods; the 2018 show has obviously taken turn with some awesome examples of the breed.
On Friday before the show, there’s an art show, a downtown Ventura cruise, and then on Saturday – the big show at the Fairgrounds with live Rockabilly music on the main stage. This year some handmade and painted kiddie cars had huge participation, with some growing kids and dogs that might not fit into those tiny rides next year.
This is a driver’s show, with only a handful of trailers on hand; this is a well-attended, friendly show with car clubs staking out their territory for members.
For the second year, Amtrak was my choice up from Los Angeles; the Ventura station is steps from Fairgrounds front gate with a $15 show ticket.
The Ventura Nationals has grown stronger with a great cross section of the hobby. The weather is usually great with Surfer’s Point on the Pacific Ocean; it’s worth the trip.
We’ve broken the galleries into two sections; the second will be added tomorrow. Grab a cold one and have a look at some sweet hot rods and sleds. Enjoy the 16thVentura Nationals!
