Contributed by Russ Muller
Memorial Day weekend is usually thought of as the unofficial “start of summer” to most of the country. Here in Central Florida, for the last decade or so, I have thought of it as the weekend for the Rock N’ Blues concert, car show, and art exhibit held at Casselberry City Hall and Lake Concord park. This year was just a little different, as the art exhibit which has always been themed towards cars and music, was themed differently so I did not have any art on display. But the concert and car show still took place as usual, so here’s a quick recap.
Saturday, May 27th was the date of this year’s show. As usual, Cruisin Orlando arranged the car show and handled the parking and staging of cars. This year was billed as a classic car show, limited to vehicles 1984 and older, although a few late-model cars were admitted. Over 100 classic cars, ranging from vintage VWs to Flathead Fords, classic Camaros to old school hot rods, attended. If you were hoping to see Chevelles, Mustangs, a straight-axle Nova, or a DeLorean or a tri-five Chevy, you were not disappointed. There was even a 1927 Excelsior Henderson motorcycle, ridden in by one of the musicians who played.
Speaking of musicians, there was a great lineup of Southern rock and blues acts who performed. Debbie D and Vintage Now opened the show, followed by the Steeln’ Peaches (an Allman Brothers tribute band). As the afternoon cruised into the early evening, the headliners, The Georgia Thunderbolts, hit the stage. Their scorching style, described by many as “the best Southern rock today” made for a great evening of music.
The city once again had art exhibited throughout City Hall, this year’s theme was ‘celebrity.’ In addition, the city has opened the Sculpture House directly across the street from City Hall and just a few steps away from the Art House. Casselberry has really embraced local art in their city, and spending a little while taking a walk through any of their exhibits is time well-spent.
Another year, another great show. If you haven’t made it Rock N’ Blues yet, put it on your calendar for next year. It’s a great event!
More photos HERE.
