Back to the 50s Car Show Grants Pass

Back to the Fifties
Grants Pass, Oregon ~ Last Saturday in July

Grants Pass' Town Center Association is at it again, refusing to give the psychedelic sixties it's due while focusing faithfully on the fabulous fifties.  Yes, they're hosting yet another  "Back to the Fifties" celebration.  This is the 27th annual Back to the 50s event here in Caveman Country, so perhaps we'll soon be fast forwarding into the nostalgic seventies.  After all, with the 21st century getting into full swing it is hardly surprising that darned few folks can even remember the fifties, and obviously this holds true for the sixties too, although not for quite the same reason...

Anyhow, the official kickoff is at high noon on Tuesday, although from the schedule, the first activity I see listed is that evening's Concert in the Park (at Riverside Park on the soccer field, starting 6:30 pm), and if it is anything like last year's concert, there will also be lots and lots of classic cars parked on the lawn.  Hmmm, perhaps some of the "Bears on Harleys" or their contemporaries will roll into town when the clock strikes noon, giving our Sheriff an extra special 50's flashback, Gary Cooper style.

Of course the cars themselves are the feature attraction of this event (or at least in the top two...) and also presumably of the decade which it ever so redundantly honors.  So, after a week of putting and strutting about town, the Classic Car Cruise officially gets underway on Saturday evening at 7.  In recent years the event has turned into more of a parade than a cruise, with  judging stands, people on folding lounge chairs waving flags while a band plays The Star Spangled Banner, and all kinds of stuff I never saw in American Graffiti.  Nevertheless, bryl-creemed participants still roll in from all over the country, and especially up and down the West Coast, for this hallowed event has become a traditional practice run for many nationwide car buffs preparing for Reno's "Hot August Nights," and though many of the hot rods you'll be seeing on the streets this week are indeed local, these will be joined on the streets all week long by many that are not-so-local.

After Saturday's cruise be sure to return again to the Caveman Plaza parking lot (at 6th and G) for the Grand Finale, a free concert and street dance!  While you're there, grab yourself a Dutch — drink one for Dane.

We'll try to post more info soon, as well as Rogue Planet Passport interactivity to allow you to post your own photos, 'Back to the 50s' anecdotes, and comments regarding the posts of others � so please bookmark this page and check back.  In the meantime, check out our photos from previous Back to the Fifties events in nostalgic Grants Pass, Oregon!

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Okay, so the first photo is actually a plug for the Saturday Artisans & Crafters Market,  and especially for the starving artist's art wall (hey folks, these guys are getting really hungry, so could someone please get over there and buy some art?)  This happens on Fifth Street, between E & F, from 9am to 1pm.

Bob Dudi and Curtis Otto talk about girls, a popular fifties pastime!
50s

Back to the 50s Car Show Grants Pass

Source: http://www.valleyoftherogue.com/backtothefifties.html

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