 Grouped into categories Registration, Waiting List, Confirmation, Check-in, Refunds, Parking, Trailering, Travers’ Dinner and Other Questions & Answers, below is where you will most likely find out everything you want or need to know about entering your classic vehicle into our Salute Celebration. Before calling or emailing, see if you can’t find the answers to your questions right here! Thanks for helping make our job easier. You have no idea how crazy it gets at registration time!!
Friday Cruise-in
Where and what time is the Friday Cruise-in? Is there an entry fee?
Free to everyone (but tax-deductible donations are cheerfully accepted and very much appreciated), officially the Friday cruise-in is from 4pm to 8pm. The Cruise-in takes place at the Petaluma Plazas and The Plaza North shopping centers (they appear to be one complex because they are literally adjacent to one another), which are located just north of Washington Street on North McDowell Blvd. Click here for a map and driving directions.
Is there any limit on the number of classic vehicles allowed?
The number of vehicles is limited only by available parking space. We do have specific areas reserved for 1975 and older vehicles, however when these fill up, owners park just about everywhere. We estimate there were over 250 vehicles last year and maybe more as vehicles are coming and going all the time. There are a couple of areas where merchants have requested that we keep open for their customers and they are clearly marked. Please respect any of these designated areas.
Registration
How many vehicles do you accept into each Salute Celebration?
Somewhere between 300 and 350. It has varied almost yearly, so we can’t give an exact figure.
Is advance registration mandatory?
Yes! Entry into the Salute Celebration will sell out far in advance of the event. We have no idea how quickly it will fill up. In 2008, it sold out in two days. The longest it has taken is 26 days. Our recommendation is for you to download your entry form as soon as it is available, fill it out and send it in immediately! There is no ‘day of event’ registration, so don’t show up expecting to get into the Salute other than as a spectator.
When can I register my vehicle?
Vehicle registration forms for each Salute Celebration go online at http://americangraffiti.net/register.html beginning about February 1st. Check that page around the middle of January for the exact date that the form will be available for download. Be sure to refresh your browser to get the current page!
Do I need special software to open the entry form and/or other forms that are downloadable from your website?
Yes. All of our forms are in PDF format so you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 6 or higher installed on your computer in order to open our forms. You may obtain the most current version of Acrobat Reader for free by clicking here.
If I live a long way away from Petaluma, do I get special treatment?
Yes, we will tentatively reserve entry for your vehicle if, by the way the crow flies, which means direct line of sight (click here to calculate that distance), you live 150 miles or more away from Petaluma. If you think you qualify, AFTER November 1st, please email: registration@americangraffiti.net and give the following information:
Your complete name, full address, telephone number, year and make of vehicle you want to register.
Our registrar will email you back to confirm receipt of your email. As soon as registration forms go online, we will wait 7 business days for your completed form to arrive at our post office box. As soon as it does, we will confirm receipt by email or a telephone call (normally we do not confirm registration until March 1). If we do not receive the form, regardless of reason, we will release your tentative entry to another person, so you must act promptly!
What types of vehicles may enter the Salute?
For the Salute Celebration: 1972 and older American-made cars or trucks only. Nothing else!
For Holstein’s Herd Emergency Vehicles: Ambulance, rescue, fire and police cars, trucks, and jeeps. We prefer older vehicles, but will accept more current models if we feel they are unique, out of the ordinary or unusually attractive.
Is vehicle insurance required?
Yes! Proof of current vehicle insurance (insurance identification card) will be required at check-in on Saturday.
How do I submit my entry form?
You MUST mail your completed form along with any necessary accompanying documents and your payment in full to:
Cruisin’ The Boulevard, Inc.
P.O. Box 4412
Petaluma, CA 94955
We strongly recommend that you make a copy of all completed forms before you submit your entry!!
 Can I include more than one entry in my mailing?
NO! Only one entry form per envelope.
What must be included with my entry form?
Each entry form MUST be accompanied by:
a) All additional sign-up or order forms
b) Payment in full
c) Two (2) stamped, legal-size (#10 or #9) self-addressed envelopes.
We strongly recommend that you make a copy of all completed forms before you submit your entry!!
What happens if I forget to sign my entry form, forget to include my payment, forget to include the two envelopes or if I fail to print neatly so the form can be easily read?
Your entire entry package will be returned to you for resubmission. Your resubmission will be treated as a new submission, which means you may not get into the Celebration. Please triple check to make sure all is in order and complete before you seal that envelope!
Can more than one person in my family submit an entry?
Yes and No. We allow only one entry per family per address. If a family member lives at another address, we will accept one entry from those addresses, also. Address MUST match that shown on owner’s driver’s license and vehicle registration! You will be asked to provide this information at the time of check-in! This gives more people an opportunity to participate.
How are entry forms processed?
Entry forms are processed first-come, first-served.
If I am not the owner of a qualifying vehicle, may I borrow one and enter it?
Yes, see the next question.
If the registered owner submits an entry and is accepted, may someone other than the owner bring the car to the Salute?
Yes. If vehicle will be in the possession of a person other than the registered owner, that person must sign and submit a separate release of liability in advance of the Saturday check-in. If this will be the case, the registered owner MUST contact us immediately upon receiving confirmation of entry into the Salute Celebration by email: register@americangraffiti.net or by telephone: (707) 762-3394 so that we can make arrangements to provide the owner with the required release of liability paperwork for the non-registered owner to sign.
If I am unable to register my vehicle for the Celebration, may I still participate in the cruise?
You may cruise outside of the restricted Celebration area, however you will not be allowed to drive your vehicle into the restricted area without proper credentials.
Waiting List
If I don’t get accepted into the Salute Celebration because it is already full or I attempt to download the form and find out the Salute is already sold out, can I get on a waiting list?
Yes. If you have already mailed your form and the Salute sells out before we receive it, we will contact you to see if you wish to be placed on the waiting list. If the Salute is sold out before you send in the form, please email: registration@americangraffiti.net and give the following information:
On the email subject line, type: Salute Waiting List
In the body of the mail, type:
Salute Waiting List and then,
Your complete name, full address, telephone number, year and make of vehicle you want to register.
Our registrar will confirm receipt of your email by return email and advise you that you have been placed on the waiting list.
If I am on the waiting list, how and when will I know if an entry becomes available?
We will contact by telephone if your place on the waiting list opens up. It could be as late as five (5) days before the Celebration.
Confirmation
When will I receive confirmation of my entry into the Salute?
We will begin sending out confirmations on March 1st, so expect to receive yours no sooner than March 5th. If you do not receive it by March 15, contact the registrar immediately by calling (707) 762-3394. When you call, speak slowly and clearly stating the following information: Registration Not Received. Then state your full name, both a daytime and evening telephone number where we may call you, the city in which you live and the approximate date on which you mailed your entry form. Our registrar will return your call within 48 hours
Check-in
As a confirmed entrant, where, when and how do I check-in for Saturday’s Salute Celebration?
Check-in will take place at the Petaluma Plaza North shopping center. Details about where, when and how to check-in will be mailed to you on May 3, 2010. At check-in, you will receive any merchandise that you ordered with your entry, your Salute Celebration credentials and instructions about when, where and how to gain entry into the restricted Celebration area in downtown Petaluma.
Can I check-in downtown at the Celebration?
Absolutely not! When check-in at the Plaza North is closed, you may not check-in downtown for any reason. Regretfully, this means that you will not be able to participate in this year’s Celebration!
 Refunds
If it rains is my entry fee refunded?
No. All Salute Celebrations are shine or rain.
Are Salute entry fees ever refunded or can they be transferred?
No. Salute entry fees are not refundable or transferable for any reason.
Parking
Once my vehicle is parked in the Salute Celebration area is it possible to move it to another location?
No. Once your vehicle is parked, it may not be moved until the cruise begins at 4pm!! If there is an emergency and you must leave the Celebration before 4pm, come to Cruiser Central and arrangements will be made immediately for you and your vehicle to be escorted out. You may not re-enter the restricted area if you leave early.
I’m disabled and have special needs. Can you make special arrangements for me?
Yes. Please mark the appropriate line on the entry form and we will contact you.
Can I park with my friends or fellow car club members?
Probably, but no guarantees. Here’s the situation: Salute parking is on streets, not in a big field with few or no restrictions. Additionally, vehicles are staged at check-in and travel in small groups from the check-in area to the Salute Celebration that is located in downtown Petaluma, a drive of several miles. We will work with you and do our best to accommodate your wishes, but you MUST at the time you submit your registration entry form, include the name of your club and/or friends with whom you would like to park. There is a place on the form to do this, so don’t forget!
Trailering
If I trailer my vehicle to Petaluma, is there any area that is specifically allocated where I can park the trailer?
Yes. On the day of the Salute Celebration, we can usually make arrangements with the Petaluma Plazas for you to park your trailer in the back of the shopping center. Keep in mind that neither CTB nor the Plazas take any responsibility for your trailer or its contents. You will be required to sign a release of liability. If you would like to find out about the possibility of making these arrangements, please state so on a note and include it with your entry form. We also suggest that you contact the lodging establishment at which you are staying to see if they can accommodate you.
May I trailer my vehicle to the downtown show area?
No. You must drive your vehicle from the check-in area at the Petaluma Plazas to downtown Petaluma and into the Salute Celebration restricted area.
Travers’ Memorial Dinner
How are Henry Travers’ Scholarship Dinner reservations processed?
Scholarship Dinner Reservations are first come, first served and are available only in advance.
May I cancel my Scholarship Dinner Reservations?
Yes. Scholarship Dinner tickets may be canceled on or before April 16, 2010. Cancellations will incur a 20% handling fee. Please call (707) 762-3394
 Other Questions & Answers
Can I get on your email/mailing list? Are email reminders sent out about the upcoming Salute?
We do not maintain an email/mailing list, nor do we send out reminders. All of the information you need to know is posted in a timely manner right here on our website. We suggest you begin checking the website regularly after January 1st.
If I am a registered participant who has ordered merchandise and I am unable to attend, how can I get my merchandise?
1) If you have a friend who is attending, please give them a copy of your entry form along with a signed note authorizing us to give that person your merchandise.
2) No sooner than May 24, call (707) 762-3394 to make arrangements to pick up your merchandise or have it shipped to you. If you request shipping, you must pay for shipping costs in advance of shipment.
I am registering my vehicle and I would also like to volunteer. Can I do that and how?
Yes you can! Proceed with registration per the above and also visit http://americangraffiti.net/volunteer.html and complete the online volunteer registration form. Where it says: “I prefer to work with the following person(s) or group” please type: “I am also registering my vehicle for the Salute Celebration.”
I will be arriving in Petaluma and/or the Bay Area early. Do you have special events planned for early arrivers?
Not at the moment, however if you want suggestions about what to see and do in Petaluma, Sonoma Country, San Francisco or the Bay Area, please email us at info@americangraffiti.net with arrival and departure dates and we will be happy to assist you.
This is my first visit to Petaluma. Where can I find out everything I will need to know about including transportation, lodging, meals and recreation?
Start by clicking here for a complete listing of all about Petaluma. Be sure to visit www.visitpetaluma.com. Email them that you’re coming to Petaluma for our Salute Celebration and ask them to mail you their Visit Petaluma package. They’re very friendly and helpful.
Are trophies presented?
Yes! Trophy sponsors, usually local merchants, pick their favorite vehicle. We give them no guidelines or rules, so show car or rat rod, it’s the sponsor’s choice. They pick their winner because they like the vehicle. Trophies are presented on the spot by the sponsor and a special window plaque is placed on the windshield to let everyone know the vehicle was selected as a winner. Winners will also lead off the cruise. If owner is not at vehicle when selection is made, owner must go to Cruise Control along with identification and window plaque left on vehicle to pick up trophy.
Is this one of those car shows where people just sit around in chairs and watch their vehicles?
If that’s want you want to do, no problem, but remember, you’ll be in downtown Petaluma and there will be thousands of people and tons of things to see and do. Besides, if one of our American Graffiti cops sees you parked on your butt too long, you may get a “parking expired“ ticket. Of course, if you’re caught having too much fun, you may get a ticket for that, also! Petaluma’s Salute to American Graffiti is for fun ONLY! Boring is not in our vocabulary!
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