Society Visits Rods and Roses 2026

Hello Loves! For this week’s Society Edit I visited the 29^th Annual Rods and Roses Car Show in Carpinteria on Saturday, June 27, which honors the late great Indie 500 and NASCAR racing legend Andy Granatelli, whose lovely, devoted wife Dolly still lives in their Montecito home by the ocean. Yes fans, I have been there and still have Dolly’s business card! The Granatellis were vibrant and most generous to our town’s local charities, and Sheriff’s Dept. Honored with Granatelli is the late Michael Armand Hammer (chairman and CEO of the Armand Hammer Foundation), who served as the lead sponsor and prominent participant in the Carpinteria Rods & Roses car show. 

The car show is the “baby” of the superlative Carp resident who makes things happen, and heads the Avo Fest and the Alcazar Theatre, Mike Lazaro, owner of Carp Events. Show volunteers start with Lazaro’s family members, Josh Pangan, Leo Pangan, and Siena Kelly; and Lazaro’s partner Jessica Wax. The judging booth announcer was Dennis Mitchell, owner of Carpinteria Valley Radio. John Palminteri emceed the parade with Kelly.

As I walked the show with marketing magnate Leigh-Anne Anderson, we met local businessman Arnie Sturham who owns the newly opened Arnie’s Rooftop Bar on the second floor of Linden Square. Sturham jumped into supporting the local community event with his car entry, a 1987 Mercedes SL560 convertible in custom willow green with camel interior. For the photo op, we asked his bar manager Trina Armitage to join. Arnie’s was packed, as the views of the car show from the terrace were amazing, and peeps were securing their seat for the World Cup Soccer games.

Next, we had to stop by Bettina’s second location, Tina’s Restaurant at Linden Square. We talked a bit with Dani Van Steen who is the GM of Bettina Montecito and Tina’s! She asked her Head Chef Reed Roudabush to prep two menu items for our photo op, a pepperoni pizza and salad to go. We tried to visit a few more spots, but the lines outside DART Coffee and fellow libation locations were #gigamongous. 

This year the show had over 200 vehicles, ranging from power cars, classic European models like Ferraris, Porsches, and of course, American cars from 1920s Ford Model A, 1932 Ford Roadsters, 1950s Chevy Thunderbirds, 1960 Ford Mustangs, Corvettes and custom modified cars and trucks. Trophies are given at three levels: Merchant Trophy, People’s Choice via attendee votes, and the Driver’s Choice. 

Featured winners are:

– Rods Custom Classic Award: Mike Mashburn with his 1957 Chevy Bel-Air

– The Crown Classics & Exotics Custom Award: Eric Smith with his 1965 Chevy Corvette Stingray

– The Mac Brown Award: Victor Prego with his 1956 Chevy S-100 

– The STP Award: Scot Crijarovish with his 1968 Dodge Challenger RT

– Driver’s Choice Award: George Harrison with his 1955 Chevy Wagon

The event included a stellar performance by 11-year-old singer-actress Soleil Perry singing the National Anthem, and a demo by the Carpinteria High School cheerleaders. At around 12:30 pm, there was a call to all the show entries to “rev up” their vehicle engines in memory of Granatelli and Hammer. The car show was immediately followed with a Carpinteria Independence Day Parade down Linden Avenue with local schools, Boy Scouts troops, teen lifeguards, bag pipers, organizations, and pets. 

The funding raised from the show goes to local nonprofits, clubs, and youth organizations, many who are given a space at no charge to set up a booth for donations and to provide information about their organization. Among those were California Women for Agriculture, Future Farmers of America students, the Lions Club of Carpinteria, Carp Women’s Club, Carpinteria Cares for Youth, and local Rotary Clubs.

Rods and Roses’ Premier sponsor is Crown Classics & Exotics, who has backed the show for years. Check their socials for more photos and info!

Till next week my loves! Xx JAC