Weekend Recap | First Fridays, The Friends of Steve McQueen Car Show, & more

It has been a busy weekend for the event goers in the Los Angeles area. With an array of events for everyone to go to your time could have been no less than exciting, and a bit tiring. And with something for everyone there should have been no reason to not get out of the house and experience the somewhat nice weather. The jammed packed Friday to Sunday events were as follows...

First Friday

The Friends of Steve McQueen Car Show

The genericmanifesto

First Friday

Friday is normally a mundane day when it comes to events but First Fridays has changed that. At 7:00 PM the extravaganza starts with most of the stores staying open, setting up and entertaining after hours quests. At 10:00 when I got their the crowds were only just showing up for the late night after parties.

The Stronghold is where you would have found me, where I was invited by Ryan one of the men who keep the place afloat may it be willingly or not. Well, after some time people watching and taking a few pictures, even taking a walk down the overly crowded streets filled with drunks, some stoned, and others just well dressed people I headed upstairs into the great scene of the Stronghold to see the Makepeace Brothers. They were amazing and had a stage presence that few bands have these days through games and conversation with the crowd.

Not long later the event was over and still Ryan was not able to come upstairs due to his duties --dedicated, I know-- but after meeting some people and having enjoyed the night the bed was all that I needed.

The Friends of Steve McQueen Car Show

In the early AM even before the sun came up the boots were thrown on and the jacket grabbed expecting minor rain at the ground of the Boys Republic in Chino Hills, the same place that Steve McQueen spent the early days of his youth. And that is where I spend the 8:00 AM hour for the 2nd annual charity car show known as the Friends of Steve McQueen Car Show. Exhibiting cars and motorcycles from the movies, life and love of Steve McQueen. Everything from the Mustang of Bullit to the bikes from On Any Sunday the cars and bikes were a sight to see and definitely worth the second trip in a less than a month -- the first being for Planes of Fame. Words escape me when trying to describe the sight, but the few pictures I took say a thousand each.

The genericmanifesto

Space15twenty this Saturday held a gather of some of the most stylish of people and some of the most impressive of interior designs. Along with the launch of the Generic Man Spring/Summer line was the opening of the genericmanifesto and a beautiful line of women's shoes. Plus a showing of fantastic clay pieces, SHADES sunglasses, Arkitip publications about and much more. And the highlight was the recycled materials -- wood and cardboard -- that made the interiors that much more attractive and making the centerpiece, a gray fiat in great condition. But also if you like the interiors everything is for sale. So check it out, possibly for longer than the 5 minutes I was there which is why I must use the photos that Bobby Solomon of Kitsune Noir took. Thanks Bobby.








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Recap | Planes of Fame

Sunday morning the sun came up over San Bernadino and there was a buzz in the air. Though I was in Los Angeles and not in Chino I was awoken by a feeling of pure excitement and anticipation that gave me an early start. So, by the time 10:00 am rolled around I was ready to go and on my way to the Planes of Fame airshow at the Chino Airport. This is mainly about the great photo opportunities that I was given while there for 5 hours. So I will leave it to the pictures and short captions after the jump to speak the truth.

Bell P-59 Airacomet: First jet-powered aircraft produced by the U.S.

Grumman F3F-2: Last biplane fighter used by the Navy.

Chance Vought F4U Corsair: Used in many Hollywood movies, likely to have seen combat in the Pacific in 1943.

Nose art: generally told what squadron the plane was apart of.

Piper L4F

Fahlin propellers: Look how beautiful the grain is and the brass edging.

More nose art: just another example of the intricacy put into one of these.

Margaret Stivers and Pilot Hartley Folstad of Silver Wings Wingwalkers: her area to walk on was half the size of that of a tightrope walker.

So Cal Triumph: refurbished and repainted to new specs.

Rob Harrison: The Tumbling Bear flying his Zlin 50.

Lockheed P-38 Lightning: only aircraft that went into production before the war that was still in production after the war.

Grumman F7F-3N Tigercat: Much of the original order for the F7F was cancelled after V-J Day, so first combat was in Korea where it was used as a night fighter.

"Don't Shoot! I'm Short"

Controls of an Army regulation Jeep.

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk: became famour flying with the "Flying Tigers"

Fairey Firefly: A British WWII era carrier-based fighter.

North American P-51 D Mustang

Republic P-47G Thunderbolt: designed around it's Pratt & Whitney R-2800, 18-cylinder turbo-charged radial engine which produced 2000 HP.

Grumman F6F Hellcat: the F6F had a kill ratio of about 20 to 1, shooting down more Japanese aircraft than any other American aircraft in WWII.

Fairey Firefly: powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon V-12 engine.

North American B-25 Mitchell

North American B-25 Mitchell: made famous by Doolittle's Tokyo raid four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The Horsemen in their F8F Bearcats

The Horsemen: normally in P-51 Mustangs are flying Grumman Bearcats for the celebration.

The Wingwalkers Stearman bi-plane

Blood-type and coordinates just in case anything happens. Thankful nothing didn't.

Jim of Lead Derby, Michael of A Continuous Lean and Chad of Secret Service LA

P.S. - Click on the pictures to enlarge. Check out the rest here...