Hot August Nights

Festival Location: Reno, NV, USA

Festival State: Nevadan Festivals

Festival Type: Car Shows

Hot August Nights Media:

Hot August Nights

By: © Maureen Blevins 2009

Pull on your bobby sox, step into your saddle shoes, roll up those jeans and head on over to Reno, Nevada the first week in August! Every year, Reno hosts the biggest and best of the classic car shows in the country. Standing on any street corner during those first 10 days of August it seems just about every third car on the road is a classic, as participants and car enthusiasts roll through town from all over the country for this event. You might call it the Mardi Gras of wheels.

The original event back in 1986 drew some 10,000 people for a concert at the Events Center which featured the Righteous Brothers, Wolfman Jack, and Jan and Dean. That first Friday night 'car parade' was lined up 6 across with participants eager to cruise the main drag of the city - Virginia Street. There was nothing else like it and people were crazy for the sights, sounds and good vibes of the '50's and 60's - as they have been ever since. What began as a modest venture has varoomed to the current 10 day event of cars, cruising and rock and roll.

The magic and the excitement of that era is all there, with controlled cruises - still cruisin' the main drag where more people line the streets than I've seen for many a parade. Numerous other venues also sponsor controlled cruises, notably the city of Sparks, where Victorian Avenue is a constant - and I do mean constant - parade of vehicles that still make my heart beat a little quicker and makes the nostalgia grab hold.

"Yeah man, that's my favorite" "I used to have one of those" "Oh man! We used to cruise in Dale's '59 every weekend!" Comments like that are heard all around me, and people are friendly and more than happy to share their muscle car memories.

Show 'n Shines abound with prizes and trophies for many of the proud owners. Casino parking lots have roped off sections for the exhibitors, and onlookers can wander at will, checking out their favorite makes and models; drooling over paint jobs, High Performance engines, wide whitewalls and all that shiny, spotless chrome under the hood, voting for their favorites or just 'remembering when'.

The entertainment that abounds in Reno during Hot August Nights is right out of that same era with groups like Herman's Hermits, Papa Doo Run Run, The Temptations, Gary Puckett, Grass Roots, Gerry and the Pacemakers, B J Thomas, Elvis impersonators, and many many more. A good deal of the entertainment is free - on outdoor stages. One of my personal, fave memories is standing on the pavement just outside a fenced in seating area, singing along with everybody else in the crowd ("Baby baby, can't you hear my heartbeat...") as a constant parade of Fords, Chevies, Vettes, and who knows what else rumbled down the street behind me. I risked getting a good smack as I sang "I'm 'Enery the Eighth I am" all the way home.

Although a great majority of the cars are from the 50's and 60's, classic vehicles from the 1930's and '40's are in abundance as well. And there are always several Model-T's or A's to be found.

And when you get hungry, nothing hits the spot like a juicy burger and fries. There are a couple of diners in town - Joe's Diner on S. Virginia St hosts it's own cruise nights and in town, Mel's Diner, located in the Sands, has just about the best, (and most filling) chocolate shakes I've had the pleasure to down.

During HAN as the locals call it, you can always find a sock hop to attend - and even a prom. You can register to win a classic car of your own - there is always at least one being given away by the casinos - or go to the Silver Auction and bid on one of the many fine vehicles (over 1000) offered on the block. Go to a Swap Meet and maybe find those perfect hubcaps. And pick up a pair of fuzzy dice to hang from the rear view mirror while you're at it.

by Maureen Blevins

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