GRAFFITI SUMMER

2022 GRAFFITI

Graffiti Summer Whips Back To June Graffiti Summer Whips Back To June

By VIRGINIA STILL

Graffiti Summer makes a return to the month of June in Modesto for 2022 and brings all the traditions with it, celebrating the car culture in not only the 209 but the world. There will be a variety of festivities going on during the month for gearheads and car enthusiasts everywhere including car shows, a parade and much more.

If you have not seen “American Graffiti” and are not sure what Graffiti Summer is all about, the State Theatre in Modesto will be rolling out the film at 1 p.m. June 4.

The celebration of the vintage hot rods and classic cars kicks off with the Graffiti Classic Car Show at the McHenry Village from 9 a.m. to e p.m. on June 5 presented by Modesto Area Street Rod Association.

The Graffiti Museum is now open and new to the Graffiti summer festivities keeping the history and car culture open year-round. They will present inductees into the Walk of Fame on June 8 in downtown Modesto.

Cars will be on display around Modesto in the evenings with the Mid-Valley Chevy Club’s “Park-n-Shines” car shows. On June 6, they will be at the Century Center and on June 9 ,the show will be at Cool Hand Luke’s in Riverbank.

The Graffiti parade and cruise will have 1,000 classic vehicles and even more spectators lining the streets at 6 p.m. June 10 in downtown Modesto and then travel down to McHenry Avenue.

The American Graffiti Festival and Car Show will be held on June 11 and 12 at the Modesto Junior College West Campus with a variety of cars, music, food and lots of fun.

“Graffiti Summer is Modesto’s biggest event,” stated Brent Burnside, chairman of the American Graffiti committee and Kiwanis Club of North Modesto.

The festival was canceled in 2020 but the Kiwanis club sold T-shirts at a drive-thru event as organizers noted that there are several people that collect Graffiti T-shirts each year and attend the event from all over the world.

In 2021 the Graffiti Summer continued but was moved to the third weekend in August with some challenges and a few changes.

Graffiti organizers noted that Graffiti Summer was always held in June because it was the end of the school year as it was featured in the movie “American Graffiti” making it the time of year that they traditionally cruised. When August rolled around the students were heading back to school for the new school year.

The 14th Annual Rod and Custom Car Show presented by the Modesto Elks will be held on from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 26 at the Modesto Elks Lodge, 645 Charity Way in Modesto. They will feature cars, trucks, and motorcycles from all years and have refreshments and music. ●

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