Hanford Insider: How The Carnegie Museum Turns Classic Cars Into A Summer Festival

Welcome And Week Ahead

SPEAKER_04 0:02

On this episode of the Hanford Insider, we get a preview of the fifth annual Carnegie Museum of Kings County car and bike show in downtown this Saturday, june sixth. Rob will give you a look at some of this week's community events, and I'll be back with your final sports report for this school year. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, june first.

SPEAKER_05 0:50

Each week we spotlight the people, events, and ideas shaping Hanford and Kings County, sharing the positive stories that bring our community together. I'm your host, Rob Bentley. So let's get started.

Election Day And City Council Notes

SPEAKER_05 1:03

In community news this week, don't forget June 2nd is election day. Be sure to turn in your ballots for this primary election. The Hanford City Council will be meeting on Tuesday, June 2nd. There will be a study session at 4 p.m. and the general meeting will begin at 7 p.m. One of the more interesting items on the consent agenda is the adoption of a resolution to apply for a grant to pay for the final design phase of the railroad crossing at Grangeville Boulevard. This project is a long time down the road, but the city continues to plan for the eventual elimination of the crossing for an underpass. To take a peek at the entire agenda for Tuesday's meeting, visit the city website at Hanford.city. Remember, if you can't attend the meeting in person, you can always watch the live stream or the recording afterwards. At this week's Thursday Night Marketplace, it's local history night, with the band Monsanto providing the entertainment. Now let's take a look at this week's community calendar.

Marketplace And Community Calendar Picks

SPEAKER_05 2:08

This Saturday, June 6th, in the afternoon at 3 p.m., there'll be a special benefit concert at the first United Methodist Church to support relief efforts in the Southeast Asian countries devastated by the recent cyclones. Also on Saturday evening, the Betha Ballet will be performing at the Hanford Fox Theater at 6 p.m. On Tuesday, June 9th, Councilwoman Kimber Reagan and Hanford City Manager Chris DeVares will be holding the next Council Connect at 5.30 p.m. at 107 West 7th Street. On Saturday, June 13th, the Patty Dance Studio will take the stage at the Hanford Fox Theater at 6 p.m. If you have an event coming up, large or small, and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together. Send your information to HanfordInsider at gmail.com. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events. It's the most comprehensive community calendar available.

How The Car Show Started

SPEAKER_05 3:16

Well, it's the first weekend in June, and we know what that means. Saturday, June 6th is the Carnegie Museum of Kings County's fifth annual car show in downtown Hanford. And with me today, I have Kathy Porter, Mike Quinn, Jack Schwartz, and Carla Orozco, all very dedicated committee members for this event. And uh, Jack, we'll go ahead and start with you. Uh, why does the museum sponsor this event and how have you seen it grown over the years?

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Well, we got into the car show business sort of uh as a result of in 2021 having our Marchbanks Hanford Speedway exhibition, and one of the curators said we should have a car show. And so the first Saturday in November on a cold, foggy day, we closed down 8th Street, ended up with over 50 cars, and that's how we started. And then we decided to do it in June. Uh we've done it on the first Saturday in June. This will be our fifth time. We've grown uh to the point that last year we had 194 cars, and uh we expect more than that this year. That that's a brief history of how we got into it, and we have judges that come in from all over, uh, including uh the chief archivist from uh the Peterson Automotive Museum in LA, comes up every year to be a judge. Um so we uh we'll have about a dozen judges, and uh besides uh approximately about 200 cars, uh I want to let everybody know that this Friday night before at 7 o'clock, uh the Hanford Fox Theater is showing American graffiti. So uh we're growing the uh the car show more of a kick off your summer festival. And uh uh besides uh the cars and the food vendors, which I'll talk about and the vendors, uh the city of Hanford will have kids' games uh right there in the park as well. So we're trying to make this a uh a family event to kick off the summer.

SPEAKER_05 5:13

So where are we talking about now? We say downtown Hanford, but what streets exactly?

Streets Food Trucks Vendors Family Fun

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Okay. Um the car show footprint is from uh 8th Street from Harris over to in front of the courthouse and then going north on Dowdy, uh 9th Street from uh Dowdy to Harris, and then a little past that to uh Warmer Dam Avenue. That's where the cars are parked. Of course, we're taking up a lot of the uh uh Civic Center Park with the vendors.

SPEAKER_05 5:43

Yeah, we'll get to Kathy in just a minute about that. But I know in the Bastille parking lot we have quite a tradition of food truck alleys. So uh what kind of food do we have this year?

SPEAKER_02 5:53

Yeah, well, we're gonna have uh a record number of food vendors, and we have everything from uh Wimpy's uh hamburgers to Jojo's hot dogs to shave ice to soft potatoes, Mexican food, uh southern cuisine. Um really uh uh we try and get a really broad range of foods.

SPEAKER_05 6:17

Kathy, we've always had the vendor fair in the park, uh, but this year's a little bit different. You've participated as a vendor, but now you're actually coordinating it. So what's the park going to look like this year?

SPEAKER_00 6:30

Oh, the park is gonna be a lot of fun this year. I had so much fun the first two years being involved that I wanted to get even more involved and help coordinate the vendors. We have over 45 vendors ranging from paper crafts to wind chimes to hand-sewn things, mosaic art, jewelry of all sorts. We also have some make and take booths where we have children's activities where we're gonna have some coloring going on. We even have someone who is selling rubber band guns, and he's also gonna have a display so that the kids can freely play and shoot um the guns as well.

SPEAKER_05 7:17

That's great. And there's also going to be some, we call it food vendors, but they're actually selling packaged foods, and I know that that's a attraction for a lot of people. And some of them are darn good. The honey place, what else do we have this year?

SPEAKER_00 7:29

Oh, yes, we have a few different honey places. We have uh I'm I'm not gonna pronounce it correctly, but it's chumway, spicy candy, along with some cookies and some sourdough bread.

SPEAKER_05 7:43

And as Jack mentioned, there's going to be uh games for the kids. There's we're going to have the um trains uh going around the park and and uh just a very fun day in the park, I would imagine, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

It is gonna be a fun day, especially with the face painting. I forgot to to mention the face painting, but yeah, it's highly being advertised as a true family fun event. There's gonna be something there for everybody.

SPEAKER_05 8:07

Fantastic. You know, Kathy, when we think of downtown Hanford, we think of Superior Dairy. They're involved in the car show as well, not only as a vendor, but as a sponsor, yes?

SPEAKER_00 8:18

Yes, they are. In fact, there's gonna be two different locations that they will be having their ice cream out this year.

SPEAKER_05 8:25

So now we get to move on to the actual highlight of the event, the

Awards Categories And Show Reputation

SPEAKER_05 8:29

cars. And Mike, I know you've spent a lot of time uh traveling to these different car shows in the valley, uh, getting to meet people and and uh recruiting them to our shows. So let's start off with the categories and some of the some of the things that people can expect to see in the actual cars that are entered.

SPEAKER_03 8:48

Well, we've got 15 different categories that we're offering awards in. I can't remember them all at 15, but we've got everything from historic, we've we've got classic, we've got um hot rod, we've got muscle cars, we're gonna have race cars, we've got Japanese imports, European imports. We've got a wide spectrum of vehicles that are out there. So there's a real opportunity for uh people to find their niche and get their vehicle recognized. Uh we've been pretty successful with that. I think last year we had 11. This year we've expanded it to 15.

SPEAKER_05 9:22

And Mike, when you've gone to these different car shows, you've put a lot of miles on your own car, but you've gone to a lot of these car shows, and the word is starting to spread about this event in Hanford that the museum is putting on each year. And I know uh we had our struggles early, you know, being the first time we'd put something like this on. But um, what's the reputation of the show around the valley now?

SPEAKER_03 9:44

Well, you know, I've as you say, I've been going to a lot of these car shows now for the last six years or so because we did have the shows earlier than uh the first Daniel show. And what I'm finding out is uh we're getting a lot of positive feedback. I used to say when I was talking to these folks, we're building the plane as we're flying it, uh trying to get some understanding for our youthfulness and our experience. But we've also spent time asking people what they liked and what they didn't like about the show. And we've tried to work and incorporate the things that we can improve on while keeping those things that we liked. And what I'm getting this year is such positive feedback when I talk to these folks out at the shows. What they're doing is they're saying, I like Hanford, I like the way it's operated, I like being downtown, I like that it's on the street, I like the spacing. We give 15 feet per vehicle and we put them on diagonals. So not only can people walk around the vehicles, see them clearly, people can open their doors, but you can see the vehicles from the street. So we've got a lot of positive feedback on that. So I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of folks have already said, I've already registered. It almost makes it feel like I'm a little redundant going out there, but it's nice to meet these folks, see them again, and remind them about what they've liked and why they want to be there.

SPEAKER_05 11:03

You know, Mike, not being a car show person myself, um, is which is kind of ironic because I helped put one on. But uh, what is it about car shows that brings people together? Uh, maybe for someone who hasn't attended a car show, what kind of camaraderie will they see and the pride and ownership of these vehicles?

SPEAKER_03 11:21

You know, I've always said to that, you know, we've got three different people who come to car shows. We have the exhibitors, we have the vendors, and we have the spectators. For the exhibitors, what they're they have pride of ownership. They're there that's their hobby. They've put a lot of time into these vehicles, they've put a lot of money. It's they've been at it for some maybe five years, some maybe 50 years. It all depends on on how long they've been at it. But they're very enthusiastic about explaining to others what they've done, how they've done it, what their challenges were. And that they also meet with other car attendees, car exhibitors, and they've some of them have known each other for years. It's a great opportunity to see one another again. But other times people come up and say, Who shot your paint? Who put your paint on your car? Where'd you get that motor? Hey, I'm having difficulty doing this, that, or the other thing. And they get the opportunity to learn about their vehicles. For for the spectators, for the viewers, they get to learn about vehicles. I can't tell you how many times people have said, I've never been to a car show before. This is so cool. Oh, I love this car. Uh I want to get that car type of thing. And I tell them, go talk to this person. They will tell you everything about the vehicle. And I see it. And the the exhibitor's face lights up, the other person gets engaged. Uh, it's it's a great thing to watch.

Lowrider Bike Show Joins Downtown

SPEAKER_05 12:44

So, Mike and I have been going to these shows, and you're saying, Rob, what are you doing going to car shows? Well, I've actually been going to the lowrider car shows and lowrider bike shows a few years ago. Uh, someone had mentioned to us at the car show, hey, why don't you start a bike show, a lowrider bike show? Not knowing anything about it, I went to Instagram and I found these great clubs that put on these shows in Viselia, Tuleri, these other great shows. Uh, there's a club in LaMore as well, and they're going to be participating. But the bike show is actually going to be held in the Carnegie Museum parking lot next to the museum, uh, just east of the museum. And we are going to have the most amazing displays of classic bicycles. And these people put thousands of dollars into their displays, and they love it. It's the same kind of thing we're talking about with the car people. They love to talk about the parts on their bikes and who painted it and who, where'd they get this done on their bike, where'd they get this modification done on their bike. And so with that in mind, we decided to expand the show this year um by having a bike show as part of it. And that uh again, we'll be in the parking lot next to the museum, but that will run during the same time. So basically 8 30-ish to about 1-130. We'll have awards for the best in show, top three bikes, and uh, we're really looking forward to that new aspect of drawing a whole new group of people to downtown Hanford for not only the car show, but the bike show. And there's going to be some lowriders that are entered into the we've always had lowriders, but this year we made it a a separate division and judging for the cars. So it's going to be really interesting to see what the turnout ends up being. As Jack said, we have we're going to easily have over 200 cars, and one of the dreams we've had is once we get past that footprint of the street, we move into the park, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Yes, that's true. So what happens is we anticipate we've got probably about 190 folks pre-registered, which is significantly more than last year, and we still have a week to go. We had 40 register within the last week. And then, of course, I think we had about 50 show up on the day of. So, you know, it's gonna get it may get a little crowded, but we're we're gonna do what we can get all the cars in. I recommend that people get down there early as you know as possible. One of the things about the lowriders is if you've looked at lowriders, they are a very distinctive category. There's an incredible amount of work that goes into these. And uh it's I don't I wouldn't feel capable of judging them. I hope in the future we get a different uh a judge just for re looking at these uh lowriders because the filigree, the paint jobs, the interiors, everything is is really fine. Uh as

Parking Volunteers And Day Timeline

SPEAKER_03 15:34

a matter of fact, maybe if you want to volunteer to be a judge, come on down. Uh 530 on uh Saturday, June 6th at the uh clock tower at the at the park. We're always looking for volunteers to help with parking, to help with entering vehicles. So if not this year, in the future, we'd love to see you down there.

SPEAKER_05 15:53

You know, Mike, you bring up a great uh point about volunteers because the museum is completely run by volunteers, and all of our volunteers, plus a whole nother army of volunteers that really enjoy working at the car show, are going to be around. The they'll have shirts on, they'll have staff badges that say staff uh volunteer. So if you have any questions, you can ask them. But probably this is a good opportunity to give a big shout out to all of our volunteers who make this happen because we not only have volunteers from the museum, but we've had volunteers from the the Explorers Program, the Police Activities League, the Hanford Cert. Uh we've got a lot of people that are participating in this community event to make it happen.

SPEAKER_03 16:35

And let's not forget the Police Athletic League. They did a fine job last year, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them down here this year. Uh, they work heavily with me on parking, which it parking is a very labor-intensive situation because everybody wants to get parked right away. Uh, and it's it just takes a bit of so it's great to have all these folks from the various groups come on and help with that. Um, it's always appreciated.

SPEAKER_05 17:01

Yeah, and we talked about some of the limitations of some of these older cars with power steering or they can't sit for too long um idling and we get some overheating, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:11

That was early one of the earliest complaints that we had when we just started that we had some confusion on starting things up, but we've changed the way we've routed things. Not everyone's going to be happy, okay? You know, some of these cars have been bored out, they don't have a lot of metal, the engines get hot. Some have been sitting for a long time, their battery's not well charged, they roll into town and they sit there, but we're doing our darndest to get everybody in as soon as possible. Last year it took us about an hour and a quarter to get 194 cars parked. I and that went from being one of the biggest complaints we had in our earliest year to we got a lot of praise for that. Things can go a little sideways sometimes, but we're gonna work real hard to make sure that everybody gets in early.

SPEAKER_05 17:55

So, Carla, you've been the point of contact for all of these people that have been registering their cars and bikes. Uh, what has your interaction been with them so far and uh what's the response?

SPEAKER_01 18:06

I do call a lot of the people who register, they leave me messages. I register about a fourth over the phone and take payment over the phone. A majority of them do pay online, but I enjoy my conversations. I always like to hear, hey, how you doing, Carla? And they like to tell me about their cars or a new car they got. Sometimes I have to get online as I'm talking to them so I have a visual. Um, but I'm learning more and more every year, and I always enjoy looking for them the day of the car show and saying hello in person.

SPEAKER_05 18:40

Yeah, and you've been uh awesome. Uh you've been a volunteer at the museum and you've been taking registrations in person and using your docent time to making contact with these people, and we really appreciate it. Can you give us a kind of a rundown of the timeline of the day? Because I don't think we've touched on that so far. So what can people expect uh timeline-wise?

SPEAKER_01 19:01

So our cars roll in between 7:30 and 8:30 at nine o'clock at the clock tower where we have our headquarters for the car show with our new Carnegie Museum tent. Um, we'll do a lot of opening ceremonies with the national anthem, some announcements, and of course, a welcome. And then between nine and one o'clock, the judges will be judging the cars. So that's a good time for the public to come at nine o'clock and walk around the civic park and look at all the cars and talk to car owners. And of course, in the parking lot next to the museum will be the our new bike show. Um, so though they have plenty of time to do that. And of course, be in the civic park where our vendors are so they can get a bite to eat, get some ice cream, um, and look at all the vendors, and and we'll have a kids' area too. So that all happens between nine and one. At one, we plan to do the ceremonies, and then after the ceremonies, we're pretty much done for the day. Hopefully, it won't be too hot that day. I'm excited that it says maybe low 90s. So uh I'm looking forward to a great day on June 6th.

How To Register And Sponsors

SPEAKER_05 20:14

And there you have it, the fifth annual Carnegie Museum of Kings County Car and Bike Show on Saturday, June 6th. You can go on the website at Carnegie Car Show.com, or you can find it on social media at Carnegie Car Show on Facebook and on Instagram at Hanford Cars. And if you have any questions about the show, you can email us at Carnegie CarShow at gmail.com. The 2026 Carnegie Museum of Kings County's fifth annual car show is brought to you by these generous sponsors, All Valley Printing, Burn Pilates and Strength Training, Choco Clean, Valley Strong Credit Union, Consorti and Conway, LLP, Univision 21, All-Star Barbershop and Liquor King, Superior Dairy Products Company, and Main Street Hanford. As of this recording, we're over 190 cars and will easily surpass 200 with our day of registrations. You can still register a car for the show or sign up to be a vendor at Carnegie CarShow.com. We hope to see all of you at the show. Now let's go to Eric for our last high school sports report of the year.

Final High School Sports Report

SPEAKER_04 21:50

Hanford West jumped out to a one to nothing lead after the top of the first inning, but steady tribe offense carried Chow Chilla to an 8 2 edge after three innings. The Huskies offense would try to rally late with a four-spot in the sixth, but Chowchilla continued to tack on in route to the 11-6 win. Hanford West's season comes to a close, a win away from a section title, but the Huskies still finish with a 17-14 overall record, going four and four in league play. And some school records were set at the CIF Masters track and field meet last week. For Sierra Pacific, Niang Ayuen closed out a prolific athletic career for the Golden Bears, setting a school record in the triple jump with a mark of 10.84 meters. And sophomore Colbin Powers set a school record for Sierra Pacific in the 200 meter dash, clocking a time of 22.29. And for Hanford West, Catherine Nunes plays top ten in the 200 meter and the 100 meter dash, with both of her times setting school records as well. We'll be taking a summer break from the sports report come fall. I'll be back again with some previews as we get ready for another year covering local sports. A big congratulations to all athletes who competed this year and represented their schools and our city well, and we look forward to covering you again next season. I'm Eric Bentley, and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.

Next Week Preview And Ways To Support

SPEAKER_05 23:22

And that wraps things up for this week's show. Be sure to listen to next week's show when we get the opportunity to visit with Andy Zonneveld and Jacob Zonneveld about what's happening at Superior Dairy. If you're enjoying this podcast and you want to support it, you can head on over to buymeacoffee.com forward slash Hanford Insider to make a donation. Or you can vend Mummy directly. To stay connected, join the Hanford Insider email list at HanfordInsider.com. You'll get weekly updates plus an exclusive newsletter delivered right to your inbox each Wednesday. I'd also really appreciate your help spreading the word about the show by liking and sharing on social media, or like most people, just telling a friend. You can follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and YouTube at Hanford Insider for more content and updates. And if you've got a show idea, send me an email at HanfordInsider at gmail.com and I'll look into it. Thanks for listening to the Hanford Insider Podcast. Have a great week.