First Ever Nite Life Car Show Expected to Boost Business in Downtown Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - Downtown Santa Barbara will have some new horsepower Sunday.

The NITE LIFE car club of Santa Barbara presents its first car show on State Street between Cota and De La Guerra. It's a free event from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Support from the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association and the city brings this event, and soon others, back to the area.

These activities are expected to boost foot traffic, encourage people to see the cars and then visit shops and restaurants, and also add vitality to the area.

The downtown scene has been going through many changes since the COVID pandemic, and a master plan for improvements was recently supported by the City Council majority – but opponents, including some council members, see a different solution going forward.

They would like to either reopen the closed section of the street or have a smaller promenade, possibly four blocks.

All believe more activities and events like the car show this weekend finds an important place in any solution going forward.

The Nite Life car club was established in 1980.

Car shows have been very popular in downtown over the years including the State Street Nationals which brought several blocks of cars out for the public to see up close. It was held in May annually and also has not taken place since 2019 because of the pandemic impacts starting in 2020.

(More details, photos and video will be added here later today.)

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