As with last year’s event, the 2017 Rockabilly Show and Shine, held on November 10–11, took place at the Rawhiti Domain in New Brighton, Christchurch. The choice of the new venue last year was a sure-fire winner, bringing everything together in one place, meaning not as much walking, and no roads to negotiate, which makes for a safe and enjoyable event.
To kick things off, organizers put together a pre-registration cruise and street party on the Friday night — leaving Bishopdale Village Mall at 6.30pm, more than 110 vehicles made their way across the city, ending up at the New Brighton slow road and pedestrian mall. As the queue of cars filed into the mall and were directed where to park, the place started to take on a party atmosphere, with live music filling the air thanks to local band, The Pistons.
An amazing beginning to what would turn out to be the great event expected. Saturday saw vehicles flooding in by 9am and the band stage was set up and ready to rock.
The open-air market, which is run in the mall every Saturday, relocated for the day, with about 100 stall-holders setting up in the domain, hoping to cash in on the 9000 spectators who came through the gates. And throughout the day, live music was provided by local rockabilly band, Candy and the Rockets, and by the Backseat Bandits, who had come all the way from Hamilton.
With 410 cars parked up, there was something for all tastes, from Morris Minors and Holden station wagons to the wildest hot rods and customs. Of course, to see the full thing you’re going to need to grab a copy of NZV8 Issue No. 152, which hits shops Monday, 27 November, but we’ve got a gallery below so you can see just what went down.
