ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — Mustangs, Porsches and Chevys will line Escondido's Grand Avenue when Cruisin' Grand returns for its 26th season, kicking off June 5 and running every Friday through September 25.

Founder Steve Waldron started the event in 2000 with a modest turnout.

"Called everybody I knew with a car, and I think it was probably 35 cars that showed up, maybe 40. The next week, we probably had over 100, and then it just kept building from there," Waldron said.

Now, Waldron expects about 400 cars each Friday night. He credits the community for making the event what it is today.

"We're in our 26th season. It would be 27, but we had to take a year off because of COVID, so, um. And it's been going strong ever since the people in this community have adapted this event and the car community. I mean, it's, it's a great little venue," Waldron said.

Waldron grew up in Los Angeles, where his father took him to events like Riverside Raceway, Lions Drag Strip, and Orange County Drag Strip.

"We'd always go to these events, so I, I guess it was bred into me," Waldron said.

That upbringing inspired him to bring something similar to Escondido.

"People in the community came out, and just, they adapted it, and it's, it's a great community. They love Cruisin' Grand," Waldron said.

Among the car owners expected to participate is 18-year-old Ciana Armosino, who got her 1968 Mustang two years ago. Like Waldron, her passion for cars was shaped by her father.

"I grew up taking a lot of interest in my dad's interest, and so, um, I kind of grew up around cars, and my dad's first car was a coupe Mustang as well, and it was also in 1968, and that was when he was 16, so it was kind of like me following through his footsteps," Armosino said.

Cruisin' Grand runs every Friday from June 5 through September 25 on Grand Avenue in Escondido.

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