San Mateo is getting rad

The first of its kind show, dubbed RADwood, is also a chance for attendees to don their favorite windbreakers and acid washed jeans, bring out their boomboxes and polaroid cameras and rewind the clock a few decades for the full throwback experience.

“It’s a lot of fun. You can’t take yourself too seriously when you’re dressed up like MC Hammer,” said Art Cervantes, who, with the help of a few like-minded enthusiasts, launched the show in 2017. “We thought, there’s all these people with ’80s and ’90s cars that are super passionate about them, and don’t have a place to take them and celebrate them.”

The event, named as a play on the similarly-immersive Goodwood Revival held in England, has quickly grown to be an anticipated show drawing thousands to major cities across the globe.

Attendees can expect to see cars from Deloreans to Camaros to Porsche Turbos and everything in between. Saturday’s event will also feature the Monte Carlo-winning race car of legendary driver Walter Röhrl, plus a rare-in-the-states BMW e34 M5 wagon and pristine Volvo T5R, among others.

Cervantes said the event encapsulates a shift in the enthusiast car world, as those who grew up in the “rad” era are now settling down and looking back at the cars they idolized growing up.

“There’s plenty out there for what we call the chrome bumper classic, ’70s, ’60s, ’50s and earlier, but there was nothing for what is relevant to my generation,” he said. “People in their late ’30s and ’40s.”

Predictably, it’s caused some cars from the period to shoot up in value, he added, like Foxbody Mustangs or Honda CRX’s, which have doubled or tripled in cost in recent years.

“My dad was a Hemi ‘Cuda guy, the ’60s and ’70s muscle cars, that was super relevant to him,” he said. “People in my age group are now looking to buy those cars they lusted after in high school or college.”

But the show draws people from all generations, he said, including younger people who’ve grown to appreciate the aesthetic.

He said the show will have a DJ playing period tunes — though he’s aiming for live music from the likes of Vanilla Ice for future events.

Gates will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and there are a couple spots left for cars. The show is $20 at the door or $15 for presale tickets, and kids under 12 are free.

Visit radwood.com for more information.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 105