Vroom! Vroom! Novato Revs Up for Nostalgia Days

The following was submitted for publication on behalf of the Downtown Novato Business Association:

The chrome is being polished now for the Downtown Novato Business Association’s 18th annual Nostalgia Days Rod and Kustom Car Show, which is revving up for Aug. 29-30.

Nostalgia Days is one of Novato’s most popular public events of the year, attracting thousands to a blocked-off stretch of Grant Avenue for the Saturday showcase. Things kick off Friday evening with a downtown Hot Rod Cruise, followed by the car show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Longtime Novato resident Marv Giambastiani marks his sixth year running the show. The Point Reyes native has made a career out of restoring classic cars and has contributed to hundreds of hot rod shows. He spends the better part of a year planning and promoting Nostalgia Days.

“People put so much work into their pride-and-joy classics, and this is a great chance for others to come down and appreciate them,” Giambastiani said. “It’s fun to listen to people say, ‘Whoa, look at this one.’ I love seeing the dads and moms bringing their kids to see what cars used to look like back in the day. It’s sort of an American history museum on wheels.”

The special guest this year is Candy Clark, who played Debbie Dunham in “American Graffiti.” The film, shot in San Rafael, Petaluma and throughout Northern California, was Clark’s second major motion picture, and Giambastiani witnessed some of the shooting himself, meeting a few of the stars.

“I didn’t get to meet Candy back then, but I’ve come to know her because of her appearances at hot rod shows all over the place,” Giambastiani said. “She has really come to enjoy the hot rod culture and has a blast reliving the ‘American Graffiti’ era.”

Clark appeared in 23 films and numerous TV shows, but calls George Lucas’s coming-of-age movie “a classic” and the “greatest hot rod movie of all time.”

“I wanted to be in it so bad, because I knew that world,” Clark told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2013. “I knew Debbie, I knew all those characters. If you had a little bit of money and you had a car, you could maybe [date] a Debbie. It just required a small amount of change and a car.”

Speaking of change, category winners will haul in some spare change at Nostalgia Days. The Barris Award winner receives $200, the “Best in Show” gets $200 and “people’s choice” snags $100.

Band stages will be set up at First and Grant at the show’s midpoint and Seventh and Grant at the show’s west entrance. The headliner this year is the Four Teardrops, who play danceable tunes from the 1950s and 1960s. Also on the lineup are Dave Crimmen, the Deadlies, and Hot Rod Juke Box. See the website for the band schedule.

Nostalgia Days is presented by Pini Ace Hardware, RIP City Riders and Moody Construction Service. The first 150 people to register their vehicles are guaranteed a dashboard plaque and a commemorative T-shirt. Giambastiani said he would like to give special thanks to more than 30 sponsors who support Nostalgia Days and the Downtown Novato Business Association. Volunteers are needed for the show! Email marvskustoms@aol.com if you can help.

Visitors are reminded that no dogs are allowed in the car show area by local ordinance.

Local traffic note: Be advised that the Friday Night Hot Rod Cruise starts at the Days Inn on North Redwood Boulevard at5:45 p.m. The police-escorted procession will head south on Redwood, west on Grant Avenue it Sixth Street, hang a “yooie” in the Wells Fargo branch parking lot to go east down Grant toward Old Town. That will be the first run of several loops around the Old Town area. The parade ends at about 8 p.m.

On Saturday, Grant Avenue will be cordoned off for the show between Seventh Street and Redwood Boulevard starting at 6 a.m. when registration starts. The show opens to the public at 10 a.m. After the 3 p.m. awards ceremony, entrants are invited to participate in another cruise between 4-5 p.m. up and down Grant.