25th Annual Woodies on the Wharf

The Twenty-Fifth Woodies on the Wharf goes down in the history books as an awesome event!  Thanks to all of you who were able to join us as we celebrated 25 years of Woodies on the Wharf!  A special thanks to the members of the WOW Planning Committee and the many volunteers that made this event happen.

The WOW weekend got started on Thursday with the Welcome Open House at the Hilton’s.  Friday morning was the annual Pleasure Point paddle out.  Lots of spectators and lots of members with their boards.

There was a huge turnout for the Friday afternoon merchandise sale at the Hotel.  The popularity of the WOW merchandise was a sign of things to come on Saturday out on the wharf.

As always, the lineup of woodies at the OP parking lot is a car show in itself.

Friday evening at the Museum of Art and History in downtown Santa Cruz was our way of recognizing our woodie club members and the City of Santa Cruz, that has generously supported our event all of these years.  The evening included a surf band on the museum patio with Tom Walsh’s car on display, woodies on Cooper Street, a full museum of woodie memorabilia, a reception on the roof deck and a huge crowd.  Many club members were safely transported from the hotel to the event by a fancy bus , thanks to our Bus Captain in Residence, Rowland Baker.

On the Saturday of Woodies on the Wharf, we had great weather, a huge crowd on the wharf (estimated 15,000+), over 180 beautiful cars and many happy woodie owners.

There were a number of shoebox Fords sporting original paint and interiors with plenty of patina.

The parade off the wharf is one of the best parts of the show. There was a huge gallery of people waiting for the woodies as they drove by.

On Sunday many owners enjoyed Sofie’s cruise where we traveled out West Cliff Drive and back by the Boardwalk on our way to the Yacht Harbor for coffee and pastries.

The SCW cheering section was out in force along West Cliff Drive.

A special shout out to some of the following folks who worked double time to make this event an epic experience:

  • The Baker family for organizing the hotel reservations & serving as the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History bus monitors
  • The Hilton’s for their warm welcome reception
  • The Ferdinand’s for the Friday morning breakfast and annual paddle out
  • Arlene and Joe Solis for organizing the exhibit at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
  • Andi and Dave Welles for assisting with the exhibit and art designs for posters, t-shirts and 25th anniversary items.
  • The Vickery’s for merchandise sales
  • The Alves for printing and cookies for the goodie bags
  • The Iatomase family for soliciting event sponsors and organizing the goodie bags
  • Mickey and JoAnn Christiason for their generous donation to pay for the goodie bags
  • Kathryn Benson for her work selling merchandise and balancing the budget
  • Lucy and Jerry Stanley for the raffle, along with Loren and Annette Steck
  • Barbara Bacon for the Hawaiian leis
  • Toni Wilkerson for organizing volunteer signups and food at the museum
  • Linda and Doug Yugo for organizing the reception at the museum and providing food
  • Howie and Patsy Benfield for organizing the selling of the dinner and raffle tickets
  • Hugh Forrest for working the door at dinner
  • Cheryl Luchsinger for her gorgeous quilts
  • Eric, Ryan, Marge and Paul Sanico for decorating the wharf entrance
  • Bob Barbour and Bob Pearson for creating an art piece surfboard commemorating WOW
  • Gary Pettigrew for his metal flaming eyeball art piece
  • Craig Selvidge for building a beautiful balsa surfboard blank
  • Dave Steele for his 25th anniversary metal sculpture
  • Joe Silva for donating the Neon woodie sign

If you are able to do so, please join us for the WOW Wrap Up Party scheduled for August 17th.  More details to follow.

Mark your calendars and come join us next year on Saturday, June 27th at Woodies on the Wharf in Santa Cruz.  You’re not going to want to miss it!

Don