The second annual Legends of Riverside Film Festival and Gala took place at the Riverside International Automotive Museum in that California city the last weekend in March, and proved an excellent follow-up to last year’s highly praised inaugural. Carroll Shelby was featured as this year’s Legend of Riverside, and those who gathered to honor the Cobra creator at Saturday night’s gala dinner were treated to nearly an hour of his fond reminiscences about his days at Riverside and elsewhere.
The previous night, VR editor/publisher Casey Annis moderated a tribute to a number of departed drivers that you can read about in his column on Page 6. Among the films screened at this year’s festival were an encore presentation of Bruce Kessler’s “silent film” Sound of Speed, and Barry Landon’s seldom seen Circuit, that follows a season in the new-era Can-Am series. Stuart Rowlands presented his unique “F1 Comparo” DVD, and several forum discussions were held that brought back many memories for those in attendance.
A collection of luminaries too long to list participated in the event both as players and onlookers, sharing stories from their racing days as well as trying to keep the recollections of their peers somewhere close to honest.
Photo: Albert Wong
Among the many awards presented were the 500-cc Club of America’s Harry Morrow Award that honored a trio of individuals who played key roles in 500-cc racing on the West Coast, George Keck, Ralph Ormsbee, and Tom Meehan. The brand-new Peter Bryant “Challenger” Award was presented to former mechanic, driver, and constructor Howden Ganley by Bryant’s widow Lois. This award was created to honor the designer of the Ti 22 Can-Am car and several Can-Am Shadows who died suddenly of a heart attack just a day after taking part in last year’s Legends of Riverside gathering. Other honors went to Norma Jordan, Arlene Sidaris (Andy Sidaris’ widow) and Bruce Kessler for their contributions to motorsports film, and Cobra photographer Dave Friedman for his superb still work over the years.
