Cruise Night
Classic cars, busy streets, and good times
If you like your Cajun po’ boy with a side of exhaust and the rumble of muscle cars, Cruise Night at Rabalais’ Bistro is the place to be!
Tonight (Friday, April 4, 2025) marks the start of the 2025 Cruise Night season in Historic Downtown Santa Paula. Each event is held the first Friday* of the month from April through October and offers collectors the chance to show off their turtle-waxed beauties to appreciative locals and visitors.
Hosted by the Chamber of Commerce,** this beloved event has been chugging right along since 1998. The city blocks off Main Street between 8th and 10th Streets to create a “street fair” atmosphere and allow pedestrians to stroll along at their leisure. Live bands also provide a solid backbeat from the base of the Odd Fellows / clock tower building.
Cruise Night helps bring in much-needed revenue for local businesses, which have come to rely on the uptick in foot traffic. It’s also just a great time to get out of the house, see the town, rub elbows with the locals, and take in some yummy local fare.
Pro-tips: Arrive by 4:00 to secure a parking spot north of Main Street (free street parking and a public lot available).
Find “front-row” seating on Rabalais’ patio at the corner of Davis and Main, along the sidewalk outside El Capricho, or at the Fermentation House (formerly Anna’s Cider) at the corner of 8th and Main.
Bring Fido for a stroll—pets welcome.
Event starts (officially) at 5:00 PM and goes till sundown (usually until 7:00 or 7:30 PM.)
*This year, July’s Cruise Night might be moved to another day to accommodate Independence Day celebrations.
**To help defray costs, the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce accepted a partial sponsorship for 2025.