29th Annual Street Festival, Car Show, Swap Meet, and Chili Cookoff!

Here's how late I can be: I finally "processed" some of my photos from last year's street festival. Ha! Just in time, too. This Saturday, July 18, is the 29th Annual Street Festival, Car Show, and Swap Meet in Downtown Hollister. New this year is a Chili Cookoff. 

The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on San Benito Street, between Fourth and South Streets. Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Streets will also be closed between Monterey and East Streets. 

Lots of old, older, and even older cars to see. Also, live music and entertainment to enjoy on two stages. Be sure to stop at the Hollister Downtown Association's booth for a free slice of watermelon.

The Hollister Downtown Association sponsors the event each year. Thank you, Brenda and team!

Here are a few more photos from the 2014 festival and car show. Maybe this year, I'll get Saturday's photos up sooner. Have fun at the festival!

Through the Looking Glass

Sightseeing in Downtown Hollister. See you tomorrow.

A Sunday Flashback -- Early 1990s

You're looking north on San Benito Street. Not much different, right?

Look closer.  Johnny's Bar & Grill doesn't have the mural we see today on it. That gets painted in 1996.

See The Vault building on the corner, across the street. No? It's the two-story green building. The Vault won't be open for another several more years.

Looking Down Swope Alley

Swope Alley is a unique street in Downtown Hollister. Between West and San Benito Streets, the alley runs east to west (or west to east depending on your point of view). Nothing strange about that.

But, on the other side of of San Benito Street, Swope Alley runs behind the storefronts. It goes from north to south (or south to north) between Seventh and South Streets. That's what you're seeing in the photo.

Interesting, huh? I wonder what the story is about Swope Alley

Friday Morning in Downtown Hollister

Another Hollister moment to love. Need I say more.

2015 Hollister Freedom Rally

The Hollister Freedom Rally will be ending in a couple hours. The weather has been perfect for the three-day event. Not too hot, not too cold. And, the fog burned off early in the morning. Hope the thousands of visitors and locals who attended the motorcycle rally enjoyed themselves.

Hats off to the ConvEXX, the rally's organizer, and to Hollister Police Chief David Westrick for a great job of ensuring a safe and peaceful event.

For more photos of the events, check out Take 25's album on Facebook. You don't need to be a Facebook member or sign on to view it.

The Replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Hollister

The Moving Wall, the replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (also known as The Wall) in Washington D.C., is on display at Dunne Park, on Seventh and Powell Streets. It's open for free viewing 24 hours a day during the Hollister Freedom Rally.

Completed in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built to honor the military men and women who served within the combat zone consisting of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and other coastal areas. The names on the wall are the 58,272 military personnel who were killed or remain missing in action since 1959.  For more details about the memorial, please click here.

The Moving Wall was created to bring the memorial to people who may not be able to visit the actual one in Washington, D.C. The replica is half the size of the memorial. It has criss-crossed the United States every year for more than 30 years. For info about the Moving Wall, please click here.

John Caldwell wrote a wonderful article in BenitoLink.com about The Moving Wall coming to town. It includes an interview with local veteran Bernie Rameriz who remembers the seven Hollister men who were killed in action and are noted on The Wall. To read "A moving memorial to Vietnam vets comes to Dunne Park", please click here.

During the Moving Wall's stay in Hollister, it is being hosted by the following groups. Thank you for sponsoring its display in our community.

The Masonic Lodge Clock Tower

I think it's time for another view of our famous timepiece in Downtown Hollister.

Until tomorrow. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. . . .

The SBC Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Parade!

It was a perfect summer evening for the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Parade. Geri Johnson, retiring Hollister City Clerk, was the Grand Marshal of the parade that kicks off the 82nd annual event at Bolado Park this weekend.

The parade had horses and rodeo royalty, community figures and groups, school kids and youth groups, singers and bands, and more. Here's just a sampling of the participants.

I'm sharing this post at Friday My Town Shoot Out, a new meme for me. Every week participants post photo around a theme, which this week is the color red. And, there was a lot of red in yesterday evening's parade.  Click here to check out posts from bloggers around the world.

Waiting for the SBC Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Parade

People started putting out their chairs before 10 a.m. for this evening's annual San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Parade. The parade will begin at 6:15 p.m. It will start at the south end of San Benito Street and march through the center of Downtown Hollister, ending at Fifth Street.

The 2014 SBC Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo Parade

The Attitude of a Reflected Image

Check out the reflection of the Veterans' Building in the windows of the Attitudes & Images Salon on San Benito Street. You might say that the reflected image has a pretty cool attitude.

Another Utility Box Mural

The utility box on the corner of San Benito and Fifth Streets now wears a fun mural honoring the biker history of Hollister. It's the third of five utility boxes that are part of a mural art project funded by the City of Hollister.

The murals are painted by local artists Joel Esqueda and Roland Resendiz. Each utility box sports a theme that represents the culture and history of Hollister and San Benito County. Click here to see two other utility box murals already completed in Downtown Hollister.

If you're interested in learning about Hollister's biker history, click here.

I'm participating in Monday Murals, hosted by Oakland Daily Photo. To see other murals from around the world, click here.