Escondido Real Estate

Crusin Grand Is A Friday Night Favorite In Escondido

Every Friday evening along a four-block stretch of Grand Avenue in "Historic Downtown" Escondido, Calif., hundreds of pre-'74 Street Rods and Classic Cars gather. Approximately 400 cars park along the streets and in the parking lots along Grand. Between 5-9 p.m. the cars begin "Cruisin' Grand". D.J.s and live bands keep the '50s and '60s music coming all night, booming from a super sound system that has been placed permanently in the median strip down the middle of Grand.

 

Additional activities such as music trivia or car trivia contests are announced by the D.J.s, contributing to Cruisin' Grand's reputation as a family event. There are lots of shops to explore along this very attractive stretch of Grand Avenue, especially the restaurants that look . . . and smell . . . great!

The heart of the event is the intersection of Grand and Broadway. The award-winning cars for that evening are staged on Broadway, along with car clubs and special events. On this night (when the police estimated the crowd at 20,000!), the special event was a "Cacklefest". Bill Pitts expertly presented the event, which was simultaneously shown on a 12 x 12 foot screen. Historic film footage was also being shown on the screen. Twelve front-engine Nostalgia Top Fuel Dragsters and two Nostalgia Top Fuel Funny Cars running on nitromethane fired up, two at a time, and drove to a simulated "Starting Line" where they stopped and let their engines "Cackle". Two to three-foot flames were shooting out of the headers, and the nitro in the air made eyes water. The dragsters' cackling sound made people hold their ears.

2008 Sponsors . . .

• MAJOR SPONSORS
• AWARDS SPONSORS

·         Sponsored by the Downtown Business Association of Escondido (760) 745-8877. Traffic laws enforced. For more information, visit www.downtownescondido.com/events/cruisin_grand.

 

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