Woodies in the Woods blends car and surf culture

  • maskobus
  • Aug 17, 2025

Pacific Grove residents Gina and Paul Hein walked to the inaugural Woodies in the Woods event Thursday afternoon at Asilomar and were met with a collection of 50 classic Woodies in their own backyard.

The Asilomar Conference Grounds, located steps away from Asilomar State Beach, tested the waters of Classic Car Week festivities for the first time Thursday. Dedicated to the wood-paneled cars, the event combined classic cars with classic California vibes.

“Asilomar Conference Grounds is one of these very special, classically California properties,” said General Manager Alex Marin. “We looked at Car Week, which is one of Monterey’s biggest revenue-generating out-of-town events and we thought … what better way than to partner with the Santa Cruz Woodies Club and pair two classically California elements for one great event.”

One of the venue’s goals this past year, said Marin, was to engage the community and give people more opportunities to enjoy the public lands. The grounds partnered with the Santa Cruz Woodies Club, a chapter of the national club, to host the event. While the Santa Cruz chapter attends many events throughout the year, this was also their first time participating in Classic Car Week.

The stars aligned as Thursday was also the 32nd anniversary of the first Santa Cruz Woodies meeting.

“A lot of people became more involved in (the club) because of the surf culture, I got involved because I’m a car guy,” said club President John Fleming, the owner of a 1948 Packard and a 1947 Buick Woodie originally owned by Philip Wrigley and later driven by Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe during their Catalina Island honeymoon. The Buick only has about 30,000 miles on it.

The club hosts its own Woodies on the Wharf each year in Santa Cruz, so Thursday’s event was reminiscent of that atmosphere, with a Monterey twist.

While they walked through the loop of cars, guests were also taking note of their favorites. Everyone in attendance could have their voice heard with the award categories including Asilomar’s Choice, Owner’s Choice, Attendee’s Choice and Kid’s Choice.

While taking in the sights, attendees were serenaded by live music from the Shawn Yanez band out of Santa Cruz. The Woods aspect of the event provided some cover from the sun, but in case attendees needed sustenance, there was Hawaiian-inspired food and a beer garden featuring a limited-edition lager brewed by Other Brother Beer Co.

“We’re leaning into our beach vibe here at Asilomar,” said Marin. “Casual and family-friendly, a whole different vibe than our traditional Car Week.”

Although the event was scheduled to begin at noon, people started rolling in as early as 10 a.m. and by the official start time, there were twice as many people (about 100) as there were cars. According to Marin, it’s safe to say Woodies in the Woods will be a Classic Car Week tradition in the years to come.

“We’ve never been to a Woodies on the Wharf so it’s nice to have this here,” said Paul Hein. Out of all the Classic Car Week events he’s been to so far this year, Hein said Woodies had the most character.

Despite the noise and busy streets that are inevitable during Classic Car Week, “it brings a lot of interest to the area, which is always good,” said Gina Hein. Being a free, family-friendly event is also nice, she said.

California surf culture is embedded in the cars, all of them having history that goes back decades.

Classic Car Week “is a big time event, a lot of fun,” said Dave Rivas, the owner of a 1937 Ford Woodie on display Thursday. “This is the first time we’ve done this down here. The cars are just so beautiful, I don’t care how many times I see them, it’s just really cool to see all these cars and all the stories are just so good.”

Rivas’ car has its own unique story. The car started out in Encinitas and was a present from a father to his son. As the story goes, said Rivas, the father couldn’t afford to send his sons to college, so he bought them each a Woodie instead. The two sons started their own business picking people up from the airport and eventually paid their way through college.

Decades later, after Rivas painted a picture of a green two-door Woodie on a rock with his grandson, the opportunity to purchase the 1937 Ford arose. He says he manifested the car.

Down the road from Rivas’ was Keith and Cheryl Smith’s 1959 Morris Minor. The couple bought the car for $100 in 1990 and started restoring it, eventually adding a trailer to the back.

“(Woodies) kind of give you a little bit different feel than metal, it’s kind of organic,” said Keith Smith. “That’s the feeling I get.” At the Little Car Show on Wednesday, the Smith’s car received lots of attention since many people aren’t used to seeing classics like it, he said.

“For the Woodies show, it’s really nice because so many people identify with them,” said Cheryl Smith. “It’s like ‘Oh, when I was a kid I saw those at the beach,’ it’s kind of neat.”

  • The Woodies in the Woods featured classic woodies, live music, food and a beer garden – including a themed lager by Other Brother Beer Co. (Arianna Nalbach – Monterey Herald)
  • The Woodies in the Woods featured classic woodies, live music, food and a beer garden – including a themed lager by Other Brother Beer Co. (Arianna Nalbach – Monterey Herald)
  • Woodies in the Woods made its Classic Car Week debut on Thursday. The free event, hosted at the Asilomar Hotel and Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove featured a variety of Woodies from coming from the Santa Cruz Woodies club. (Arianna Nalbach – Monterey Herald)
  • Show Caption1 of 4The Woodies in the Woods featured classic woodies, live music, food and a beer garden – including a themed lager by Other Brother Beer Co. (Arianna Nalbach – Monterey Herald)Expand

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