Photos by Larry Edsall
At so many local car shows, you drive in, park, break out the lawn chairs, walk a lap and then spend the day sitting and talking with your old friends. Not at the Rockabilly Bash.
Staged by the 5 & Diner restaurant group’s Phoenix stores, in four years the Rockabilly Bash has established itself as the custom car show where, if you’re sitting, it’s likely to be at high speeds as you take your car on a pass — or a few — down the adjacent Wild Horse Pass drag strip, but where you’re more likely to be up on your feet, looking at cars, visiting the vendors, or tapping your toes or even sock-hop dancing to the music provided by a parade of live bands.
Oh, and if you want to sit, there are plenty of big tables where you can eat food from the 5 & Diner-operated concession stand.
Hundreds of cars and their owners and a few thousand spectators show up every year. And the cars and the bands are not the only attraction. The event includes a WW2-style pinup fashion competition.