Cruise the Boulevard

Enjoy the Cruise

It is said that the cruising culture was an evolution from the old traditions of strolling down Main Street or around the town square. Although cruising was predominantly boys showing off their cars, individuals would drive slowly down long, straight streets, preferably with many traffic lights to increase opportunities to talk to other cruisers or pedestrians. Cruisers would also gather in parking lots, particularly those of drive-ins and there was always a chance of an impromptu races with other cruisers.
Driving in the cruise requires registering for the car show, however watching the cruise is free! Are you thinking of attending? Check out the map below and pick a spot on the 2 mile route to watch the vehicles cruise.

Driving the Cruise

With each registration, a vehicle will recieve a cruising pass, which can be used to access a dedicated route within the event. Cruise will start at 4pm on May 16th, with the sound of the Cruisin' the Boulevard's own police car siren. Cars will line up on the dedicate route single file behind the American Graffiti Cop Car, and cruise just like olden days.

We are bringing the expanded the cruise route back again this year, with a few adjustments to improve the experience for everyone. This route is just over two miles, through historic downtown Petaluma and historic D Street with homes featured in other major films.

A reminder that this cruise route is on public open streats and riding in the back of trucks or outside of a legal seat, will not be permitted while the vehicle is moving. Please obey all traffic laws and be respectful in these residential areas.

After cruising you may exit the event through the marked exit routes or park in any legal parking space and rejoin the festivies on foot. The cruising route will remain open no later than 8pm, you may return to crusing as many times as you wish until the route is reopened to regular traffic.

Tips for a good Cruise

• The cop car leads the cruise, remain parked until the cop car passes your vehicle. The cop car siren will sound when the cruise starts.
• If you are looking to depart, remain parked and wait for the cop car to pass, then enter the cruise and travel the route to the nearest exit. Exits are posted on the cruise map on the back of your cruse pass, in the program on on this web page above.
• Anyone may ride in the vehicle with you as long as they can do so safely. If cruising outside the event zone everyone must be wearing a seatbelt.
• Cruise passes are customized to the registered vehicle and should be prominetly displayed while cruising. Note that passes are regularly checked by our team and must match the car they are displayed in.
• The intial loops of the cruise are packed, its not a bad idea to wait for the cop car to pass twice before entering the cruise.
• Don't burn out or speed durring the cruise or within the event space. If you are caught driving dangerously your cruise pass will be revoked and you will be escorted out of the cruise and face exclusion from future events.

Vehicles at 5:00 pm

At 5 pm the historic streets may begin to reopen by the Petaluma Police Department. Vehicles remaining downtown after this time, must be legally parked, else they may risk being towed.
If you choose to cruise or not, attendee vehicles must be in a leagl parking space, or moved to one. Those that are not leagly parked when the streets are reopened risk being towed at the owners expense.

Watching the Cruise

Even if you are not driving, coming down to watch the vehicles cruise is a great deal of fun. There are so many places to watch the vehicles from, decide to bring a chair and sit along the route, or make a reservation at one of the resturnts downtown and watch the cars roll by over dinner or evening beverage.

Watching the cruise go by is a highlight of the show, its free, fun and family friendly.