May Madness takes to the streets

As Jim Darrow perused the line of shiny old cars lining Solano Street on Saturday his eyes lit up as he came upon a black 1929 Ford Coupe.

Darrow was enjoying Corning's 16th annual May Madness Car Show, which draws vehicle enthusiasts of every kind from far and near, both as spectators and entries.

"It was 1942 and I was 13 years old when I went with my brother and we bought a car just like this one, a 1929 Coupe for $23. We had gathered and sold scrap metal all summer to get the money to buy that car," Darrow reminisced.

As he walked down the main thoroughfare of town, clouds of white smoke plumed in the background as the car show's Burn Outs competition took place in the parking lot in front of the Corning Police Department.

With the crowd roaring them on, Burn Out entrants left more black rubber on the ground than on their tires.

"This is one place you can burn your tires all you want right in front of the cops without worrying about getting a ticket," said Sean Smith, announcer for the event.

For the second year in a row, Luke Green of Corning in his 1974 Chevy C10 was the Burn Outs winner.

Following the Burn Outs, drivers in big-wheeled, lifted 4x4 vehicles drove up a steep ramp in the RTI competition. Corning's Trisha Button slowly but surely climbed her Toyota 4x4 pickup to the winner's circle in that event.

This year's Low Rider Hydraulic Show had quite a few entries which bumped their way down the roadway, showing off thousands of dollars in equipment. The winner was Mychal Hamlin and his 1964 Impala.

Right in the middle of town sat a crushed, cubed vehicle that spectators could study and give a educated, or not educated, guess as to the mystery car's make, model and year.

The day's fun wasn't enjoyed only by the spectators, the car show entrants had a good time as well.

Corning's Les Byers sitting near his 1928 Ford Coupe with fellow car show entrants Marv Dunn of Richfield and Bob Townsend of Orland, said he has had a car in the show for seven years.

"I don't come to the car show to worry about winning, I come to enjoy the cars and visit with old friends," he said.

Dunn, who was there with his 1939 Chevy Master Deluxe, said he has been entered in the car show almost every year it has been held, and this was the third year for Townsend and his Model A.

"We have a good time and this is a good event," Dunn said.

Chamber of Commerce Manager Valanne Cardenas agrees.

"We had a great turn out this year," she said. "Everyone I talked to said they were having a really good time."

Along with cars, trucks, motorcycles and other vehicles, the event featured live music by the Bigguns, craft, art, and food vendors, raffle drawings, model car show, and presentation of awards.

To top things off, more than $1,000 was raised for Corning Christian Assistance during the May Madness Mixer Barbecue Dinner on Friday night.

"I want to express my appreciation to the members from the New Life Assembly Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for putting on the barbecue and raising those funds," said Willie Smith, director of the assistance center.