ESCONDIDO (KGTV) — Escondido's Cruisin' Grand is back, drawing car enthusiasts and families to Grand Avenue for its 26th year.
The free event features classic cars on display as old-school engines roar to life along the street that serves as the epicenter of the show.
Devun Cendana is attending Cruisin' Grand for his third year, showing off his blue Cobra — a car with deep family roots.
"My grandparents bought it when it was already built. It used to have just bald black tires. It was straight red with a flat hood," Cendana said.
Cendana said he and his family worked to transform the car's look over time.
"We wanted to go for that type of racy look to make it a little more sporty," Cendana said.
For Cendana, the event is about more than the cars themselves.
"It's a shared passion and it's something that I think can never be broken," Cendana said.
Founder Steve Waldron said attendees can expect a wide variety of vehicles on display.
"You'll see muscle cars. You'll see, uh, hot rods. You'll see vintage cars. You'll see classic cars," Waldron said.
Waldron encouraged the community to come out and experience the show firsthand.
"Just come on out. It's a family fun experience. It's free. You can walk up and down the street and before you know it, 3 or 4 hours of your life went by and you had a blast," Waldron said.
Police will also be present at the event to ensure public safety.
"The event, like anything that's open and accessible to the public before it starts, we do a security assessment, a site assessment. To make sure that we have the resources available that we feel are necessary," Lieutenant Craig Miller said.
For Cendana, Cruisin' Grand has become as much about the community it builds as it is about the cars it celebrates.
"The friends we made along the way and the connections, like now it's not just like we pull up, sit down, talk about the car. We pull up, we sit with our friends, oh, you've brought the car and stuff, just creating that family type of community," Cendana said.
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