Saturday, Jun. 28, 2008

Christian stop the violence rally held

car show, musical acts draw a crowd

Members of Victory Outreach and the Swords Afire Motorcycle Ministry put on their second annual Stop the Violence Rally and car show in Pacheco Park Saturday.

The rally encountered an incident of violence later in the day, but its start was typical of any other Los Banos event.

Car enthusiasts, community members and families came looking to praise God and enjoy the day.

“Los Baños has a lot of great things it does throughout the year,” event cooridinator Rev. Chris Castaneda said. “This reaches those the other events do not.” Specifically Castaneda was hoping the event reached younger people and inspired them to turn toward Christ.

The event featured a multitude of christian musical performances, spanning from rock to rap music. Raffles were held, vendors supplied food for attendees and about 50 cars from the 1960s to the current decade were scheduled to be part of the festivities.

The opening musical acts at the event were the Rhema Blues Band and Impact. Both groups brought in spectators as people moved their lawn chairs toward the stage so they could see the show.

Robert Howell attended the event last year but at that time he was still working on his 1978 El Camino. This year as he propped up the hood he said he was dedicating the finished car to his deceased first wife who convinced him to buy it in 1998.

But not everyone came to the event to see the cars or the motorcycles that dotted the park’s path leading to Loftin Stadium.

“First the music then the cars,” Martin Rodriguez said. “My girlfriend told me about it. I was already a christian so I came out.”

Violence marred the event as Hell's Angels and Mongols, two rival outlaw motorcycle gangs, reportedly had a confrontation that allegedly involved gunfire. However, Castaneda said, the rally will be back next year.

“Let’s not just say we have a gang problem, let’s do something about it,” he said.

Enterprise reporter Corey Pride can be reached at 388-6563 or at cpride@losbanosenterprise.com.