Warbirds, Wings & Wheels 11 promises more fun for the whole family

Posted: 2:55 am, April 25, 2019 by Guest Contributor

By Nicholas Mattson, Paso Robles Magazine

More parking, entertainment

Whirling like the blades of a UH-1D chopper, the crew at Estrella Warbirds Museum is getting the grounds ready for the biggest event of the year — the Warbirds, Wings, and Wheels 11 — coming May 11.

On the ground and in the air, BMX stars will show off what bicycle freestyle is all about, with riders hitting a 40-foot impact jump ramp.

BMX show by StuntMasters

Event coordinator Carol Verstuyft is looking forward to another great year with new features and entertainment. One of the new big draws will be a BMX show by StuntMasters. On the ground and in the air, BMX stars will show off what bicycle freestyle is all about, with riders hitting a 40-foot impact jump ramp.

“Their purpose is to get kids off their cell phones and out of their game box to get outside doing activities,” Carol said, “and the guy heading it up is from Paso Robles.”

The StuntMasters are headed up by John Parker, a Paso Robles native who has 25 years of contest and show experience from around the world, including a decade of X Games competition, 2 MTV Sports and Music Festival wins, a Gravity Games gold medal, and a Guinness World Record.

The StuntMasters will entertain with an interactive experience to turn “positive thoughts into purposeful action.” Alongside the BMX stunts, there is the Kid Zone with bounce houses, face painting and more for a great time for all ages.

Car show and swapmeet

For the gear heads and shoppers, the swap meet opens at 7 a.m., with 100 spaces to fill — and filling fast — but with 10 acres next door now available for use by the museum, parking is not a problem.

“There is expanded car participant parking and expanded spectator parking,” Carol said. “If Mother Nature keeps cooperating as she is right now, all of it will be road base so we can extend the parking there.”

The comfortable surface area around the museum will be filled with swap meet vendors, and a parade of vehicles in the car show. Last year, a record number of car show entries made it the biggest event on the grounds.

Cacklefest and Chome

Adding to the event, the Cacklefest will be back to rip and roar with six or seven front-end dragsters showing off high-octane engineering. Bring your earplugs!

Among the car show beauties, engine-building expert Bill Maropulos will bring a hand-made hot rod for display, along with many locals breaking out their chrome for the first great weather in months.

Estrella Warbirds Museum

The Estrella Warbirds Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with several buildings filled with amazing artifacts from every decade of American military.

Don’t miss the upgraded flight simulator with dozens of aircraft to choose from as you fly through time and space.

Food and drink

Food and drink will be on hand with Firestone Walker pouring 805 beer and vendors providing fresh grub while Monte Mills and his Lucky Horseshoe Band plays their signature old-style barn guitar and fiddle.

Friday night barn dance and dinner

If you just can’t wait, get there on Friday night and enjoy dinner and a dance. On May 10, treat mom to an early Mother’s Day gift. Get your tickets online at ewarbirds.org today. Tickets are $35 per person, $245 for a table of eight and $315 for a table of 10.

Register today

There are still available spots for the car show and swap meet. For the swap meet, contact John Spooner at 831-238-1278 or swapmeet@ewarbirds.org. For car show vehicle registration, event tickets, or more information, go to ewarbirds.org.