Any excuse to take a road trip is a good thing when you’re a Lowrider, but a must-attend event is an even better reason. Such was the case this year when Lowrider Magazine journeyed down to the beautiful city of San Diego this past July for the 2011 date of LowriderFest. This event is known to attract a ton of entrants; so naturally, Qualcomm Stadium was again selected as the site for this year’s show as the venue is more than capable of housing the large number of show entries and attendees.
As expected, just about every area of Southern California was represented at the show this year as a number of car clubs brought out a large number of rides and had multiple chapters representing. This was definitely a great chance to check out some of the latest builds in the scene and aspiring builders were treated to a bevy of possibilities.
One of the first clubs that made an impact on us upon entry was the Individuals Car Club; who were well represented at the show. Their lineup was capped off with Armando Molina’s Lowrider Magazine-featured 1958 and 1959 Impala convertibles. Rigo Reyes and the Amigos Car Club had one of the most colorful line ups on the day, and many attendees agreed that their cars were filled with some of the most vibrate paint jobs at the show. The Crowd Car Club showed up to the show with a large number of cars as well, living up to their name. With some of their best on hand, Masa and the club had over 30 entries, including a recently completed ‘38 Buick Special. Impalas, New Wave, Viejitos, and Klique Car Clubs also had nice line ups and were well represented at this year’s event. A couple of riders, namely Possum & Big “T” brought their recently completed ‘64 Impala SS rag top to the show all the way from San Jacinto, California, and let me tell you, it was certainly worth the trip.
The morning shaped up nicely, and Qualcomm was abuzz with a who’s who from the Lowrider scene, eager to see what everybody else had been working on. Around mid-day, the Kool Aid Hydraulics-sponsored hop contest began, with entries from across the Southland. Good Times, Majestics, How High Hydraulics, and Big Al were some of the hoppers aiming for bragging rights and the cash.
As the afternoon approached, the ever-popular bikini contest was held on the main stage and one lucky young lady went home with the cash prize. The air was filled with a variety of music, thanks to deejays on hand who kept up the ambience. The energy increased on the musical side of things as the concert began. This year’s headlining act and show closer was the ever popular Baby Bash. He hit the stage and belted out his hits like “Baby I’m Back,” “Cyclone,” and “Go Girl.”
In closing, this year’s LowriderFest show was a success for both the event promoters, as well as the Lowrider community. We are definitely looking forward to checking out next year’s show; it’s always a good time in San Diego!.