Community Corner Photos: Petaluma Throws It Back To ‘American Graffiti’ Five hundred cars and thousands of people —some in poodle skirts — filled downtown Petaluma for the 17th annual car show and cruise.
The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) This classic T-Bird drew a lot of attention at the American Graffiti annual car show in Petaluma on Saturday. A Taylor Swift look-a-like blond mannequin was placed on the fender— or maybe it was a tribute to Suzanne Somers. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com) The 17th annual Salute to American Graffiti car show and cruise, May 18, 2024. (Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com)
PETALUMA, CA — Five hundred American-made cars from 1972 or before lined the streets of downtown Petaluma on Saturday, May 18, for the 17th annual Salute to “American Graffiti.”
Thousands of people attended the daylong event featuring a car show that started at 10 a.m. on the same streets featured in the movie, which was filmed June-August 1972 in Petaluma with a few scenes filmed in San Rafael and Modesto. The event also featured food vendors and a live DJ playing music from that era. The film by George Lucas, a Marin County resident, featured a young cast of actors and actresses who today are either Hollywood stars or “American Graffiti” culture icons: Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Kathleen Quinlan, Suzanne Sommers, Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark and Bo Hopkins.
At the car show, a classic T-Bird drew attention with a Taylor Swift look-a-like blonde mannequin seated on the fender — or maybe it was meant as a tribute to Suzanne Somers, the blonde who drove around in a white Thunderbird in the classic movie. Somers, also well known for one of her other roles in the TV sitcom “Threes Company,” died in October 2023 after years of battling breast cancer. We salute you, Suzanne.
At 4 p.m., it was time to start the engines and cruise the Boulevard —as in Petaluma Boulevard and the adjacent downtown streets. See a recap of the event here, and read more fun facts here about the movie being filmed in Petaluma.
Photos: Petaluma Throws It Back To ‘American Graffiti’
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