Anthony Alfaro was the man behind it all.
Glendale High School hosted its first car show in over a decade on Saturday, January 17, 2026. The event was sponsored by our ASB, but it was almost entirely planned and organized by Anthony, our ASB President, along with help from GHS assistant principal, Ms. Charlotte Sassounian.
Anthony wanted to create a community event where people from different schools and around the local area could come together and share their passion for cars. He knows that cars aren’t everyone’s thing, but he wanted to give people a place to be exposed to car culture, meet enthusiasts, and maybe even discover a new hobby or interest.
Anthony was inspired by Burbank High School, since they have been hosting an annual car show of their own for several years. Seeing their success made him realize that GHS could do something just as great, if not better. It motivated him to start something new for our school.
The idea really came to life after Anthony talked with his father about events he could bring to GHS. When he mentioned a car show, that conversation sparked something, and father and son worked together to make it possible. Thanks to his support, and help from GarageLife, Universal Technical Institute, BenzTec, and Liqui Moly, they were able to turn the idea into a reality.
Anthony wanted to take a step toward building a new kind of community event in Glendale, because there are so many amazing cars here, including BMWs, Mercedes and more. “You never know who might show up or what kind of cars could roll in, and that’s what makes it so exciting,” he stated.
The car show was definitely a lot of work. Anthony had to form connections and reach out to Burbank High School’s ASB president to understand how they organized their car shows and what steps were needed to make something like this happen. From there, he had to find a date in the school calendar that didn’t conflict with other events. He also met with the GHS administration team to figure out where on campus the show could actually take place.
Anthony also worked closely with ASB members, including Sofia Orellana, Rakib Morshed, Ellen Kalantaryan, Ellen Grishchyan and Nelly Ohanian, who helped organize food truck vendors, coordinate setup, and support logistics. He reached out to the GUSD Student Advisory Council for additional support, contacted the police department about registering cars, and spent weeks emailing and calling vendors, many of whom didn’t reply. He also had to reach out to people across the district, and even outside the city, to encourage them to register and participate.
“Organizing committees to handle each part of the event took careful planning and coordination,” Anthony revealed. “No one really knew how car shows worked, which was pretty difficult. However, it took a lot of patience and sleepless nights to figure things out.”
There were definitely a lot of challenges for Anthony. The toughest parts were getting in touch with food vendors and car vendors, reaching out to countless people to come out and participate, and figuring out how to organize parking for all the cars on campus. “It was a lot of work and honestly pretty exhausting,” he admitted
But Anthony couldn’t have done it without the people who supported him. He feels that Ms. Sassounian, his ASB peers, his father, and his connections with GarageLife, UTI, BenzTec, Liqui Moly, and Pacific Savagez MC all played a huge part. “A big shoutout to Jon from Pacific Savages, a former GHS student, who stepped in to help as well,” he said.
Anthony hopes this event will become a new tradition at Glendale High School. It’s off to a great start, especially with support from our various vendors and sponsors. He’s also talked with Cars & Connection about possibly helping with future shows, where they could bring out some of their exotic and luxury cars, like Porsches and Lamborghinis.
“More than anything, I hope future ASB members and GHS students continue to host events like this and make an even bigger impact than I could imagine,” Anthony said. “I want this to inspire others to take initiative and make their ideas happen, even if it feels ambitious at first.”
Anthony also hopes other Glendale schools will participate next year, so that this becomes a community-wide event, where car enthusiasts from different schools can connect and support one another. And maybe our car show will encourage people who don’t usually care much about cars to start appreciating the little details that make this hobby so amazing.
Anthony has a hard time deciding on his favorite car. “There are so many cars I love, but a few definitely stand out,” he said. “The 1998 Integra Type R will always be my top pick. It’s the car I grew up around and the one that really started it all for me.”
“I also love the E46 M3 for its classy, timeless look and how great it is as a cruiser,” he continued. “The R34 GT-R is another favorite; it’s legendary in both performance and presence. I’ve also got a soft spot for the Porsche 997.1 and 997.2 GT3 RS models, and of course, the Ferrari F40 for its raw, retro, race-inspired design.”
Ultimately, Anthony would like to thank all our amazing volunteers and the GHS community who made this event possible: Brent Sales, Rakib Morshed, Mike Nersisyan, Charlie Toledo, Angelina Mourtada, Ayane Amador, Erik Guerrero, Darben Smith, Hovannes Hayrapetyan, Hakob Stepanyan, Gem Garcia, Naelie Zermeño, Sirene Simons, Hayk Bedros, and Natali Melkumyan. We also want to honor Ellen Grishchyan for her hard work designing the awards, Ellen Kalantaryan for her awesome social media efforts, and Diana Avetisyan for helping to spread awareness. Every single one of them played a part in turning this vision into reality the day of the event.
We hope to see you all again in January 2027, for the second annual Glendale Car Show! Keep your motors running, Nitros!
