Wheels & Waves rolls into November

Channel Islands— Fireball Tim Lawrence brought the November Edition of Wheels & Waves to the Channel Islands Maritime Museum on Sunday, November 3. The free event delivered a ton of family-friendly fun.

CAR lovers enjoyed plenty of free coffee and donuts, explored the museum, and shared their common bond, cars, on the bright fall morning.

Shoshanna Hnat brought her 10-year-old Great Pyrenees Anatolian Shepherd Mix Grayson to enjoy the event and said she's the Communications and Events Manager at the Channel Islands Museum.

"I think the Bronco on display is really cool," Shoshanna said. "I have a Jeep, but I think the older Broncos are great."

She loves Fireball Tim's free car show and said it works well with the Channel Islands Maritime Museum, which opens early for the event.

"We charge admission to enter the museum, but it's open to everybody; people can bring their Dog and look at all the cool cars and have a coffee and donut," she said. "The coffee is delicious, and the donuts are even better." Lawrence said the show has great cars, his art passion, and said beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

"If someone brings a car to the show and loves it, we love it," he said. "The show is about the people and not the cars because the cars are the personalities."

It rained 24 hours earlier, and standard time started, but he said Wheels & Waves still has an amazing turnout of awesome cars and people.

"That's a true testament that car culture is alive and well, and people love coming out to share their stories," he said.

Lawrence, a set designer, has a new series, Interior Chinatown, which will premiere soon, and loves helping kids dream about making success stories.

"When you've done something for a long time, opportunities present themselves, and you're able to share some of those stories," he said. "As you get older, you welcome those opportunities, and you're grateful to be a bl e to do that. If I had a mentor as a kid who guided me in some of these things, it would have been wonderful."

Oxnard College's Automotive Department is here today; I did a talk there and said you guys need to have a booth at our show and spread the word that Oxnard College has the best automotive department in Southern California," he said. "It's incredible."

He said Interior Chinatown premieres on HULU on November 27.

"We're leaving for Las Vegas on Monday; I'll have five cars; they're all built by Project Kars from Texas, and I'll be doing a signing at the TRW Booth every day," he added. "After the holidays, I'll also be doing the Diecast Supercon in Vegas. That is the largest collection diecast convention of Hot Wheels."

Oxnard College Career Education Program Specialist Olivia Long came to discuss the school's trade education programs.

"We have trade opportunities at Oxnard Community College; we call it career education, and oftentimes, it's free," she said. "With our financial aid and all the programs we offer, students can often do our programs for free."

She said some students have a defined passion, but the College features a Strong Inventory Assessment Tool, which is an interest-based assessment.

"You fill out 144 questions: do you like this or that, are you hands-on, or do you enjoy working with people," she said. "It gives you a profile at the end with a list of the top 10 occupations you would align with based on your interest."

She said anyone can learn trades, and education starts at square one.

"Our students come to us with a variety of skill levels; some are novices, and some have been working on cars with family members in the garage for years," she said. "Our instructors are well-versed in working with diverse students."

She said students could utilize Oxnard College's Financial Aid Workshop or visit with a Financial Aid Specialist to defray College tuition costs.

Visit oxnardcollege.edu for more information.

Victor Vasquez brought his 1970 Volkswagen with a sunroof to the show that his Dad owns.

Dad Joe said he bought the car in 1998 and owned a 1960 convertible Bug.

"It's hereditary," he said. "Volkswagens are fun to drive, and the people are happy and smile."

Victor says he details and cleans the car and can be reached at his detailing service, 805-889-8481.

"We had to paint it and put in different upholstery and seats," Joe said.