Food trucks, exotic cars and airplanes: Salinas cruises into the weekend

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• Salinas is hosting two food-centric events on Saturday, May 3.
• The Salinas Food & Fly In at the Salinas Airport, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will feature exotic cars, airplanes, and aviation information.
• What’s Grubbin, a food truck event, will take place downtown from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. with live music and a beer garden.

Salinas residents have a festive Saturday ahead of them with two unique events that put a focus on food, fun and community.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, the first-ever Salinas Food & Fly In at the Salinas Airport brings together exotic cars, airplanes and an opportunity to learn more about aviation.

“We want to bring awareness and shed light on the Salinas airport and the many amenities and programs that it offers,” said Jorge Casas, organizer of the event, which is being hosted at GateOne and Jet West at the airport hangar.

“We’re talking about the Flying Artichoke restaurant, Jet West, GateOne as well as all the different programs such as the Bob Hoover Academy, Monterey Bay Ninety-Nines, Salinas Pilots Association and flight schools.”

There will be over 13 planes on display, with pilots flying in from different areas around California, said Casas.

“We will also have local organizations that can talk to the community about how they can join or how they can be a pilot or get into aviation mechanics or just learn more about aviation,” he said.

Planes will not be the only things with powerful engines on display, Casas said about 30 exotic vehicles are coming out as well.

“We’re going to have McLarens, Lamborghinis, Porsches,” Casas said. “We will have one special vehicle, a Pagani, which is like a $3 to $4 million Italian supercar.”

The event will also have local food and arts and crafts vendors. The Salinas Food & Fly In is free and parking is free.

What’s Grubbin food truck night in Salinas

Coming hot on the heels of their successful inaugural event in March, What’s Grubbin Salinas returns on May 3 with their popular food truck night at 26 W. Market Street, from 2 to 9 p.m.

Along with 25 food trucks serving an assortment of top nosh and drinks, there will be live music, games and a beer garden.

“You can go to Oakland, you can go to Lathrop, you can go to San Jose, Pacific Grove and Scotts Valley—you can go to all these places, and they all have food truck meetups,” said Orlando Osornio, former Salinas Councilmember and founder of What’s Grubbin Salinas.

Osornio who used to own and operate “Tortas al 100” food truck wanted to bring some of that magic to Salinas.

“We have a huge food truck community, not just those who have food trucks but enjoy eating at food trucks,” Osornio said. “We wanted a place where people can go and enjoy live music, wine and beer, have a good time and enjoy diverse foods.”

The idea caught on with the community, and the first What’s Grubbin Salinas on March 15 drew bigger than expected crowds.

“We were thinking we’d get anywhere from 500 to 750 people, but there must have been thousands,” Osornio said.

This time around organizers will set up more tables, but the selection of food will be as diverse as before, with food trucks coming from throughout the 831.

“We were looking for sushi, we were looking for Hibachi—we were looking for hot chicken sandwiches, pastas, BBQ, Filipino food, Indian food,” Osornio said. “We wanted to make sure we brought food trucks from around the area from south Monterey County to Watsonville.”

The May 3 event is family-friendly and free to attend. Music will be provided by DJ Lumbris, DJ Rick Jamz, TNT and the Explosions, and Banda Varoz y Sus Amigos. Festivities start at 2 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m.