FOR one weekend every spring the lakeside town of Tallangatta relives the fabulous fifties.
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On Saturday and Sunday, the Tallangatta Fifties Festival will return in memory of the town's forced move to its present location in 1956 because of the expansion of Lake Hume.
The shift happened at a time when rock ‘n’ roll music was about to change popular culture.
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Tallangatta, the Tallangatta Fifties Festival will kick off on Saturday with street stalls, free music in the park and myriad activities within 100 metres of the town centre.
Organiser Manny Chessari said hundreds of rock 'n' roll enthusiasts from all over the country headed to Tallangatta for the non-stop weekend of festivities.
He said there would be classic cars, motorcycles, non-stop rock 'n' roll dancing, world class entertainment, busking and an art show.
“We hope to get 2000-3000 over the weekend,” he said.
“We get a lot of regulars who are rock ‘n’ roll fans; the rock ‘n’ roll crew like to dress up and jive away on the dance floor on Sunday and particularly on the Saturday night in their frilly skirts and pointy shoes.”
Mr Chessari said Wilbur Wilde and The Troublemakers would be a highlight of the program on Sunday in the town triangles.
“It will be an exciting live performance; Wilbur appeals to so many age groups through all his different roles,” he said.
The popular Megas Music Talent Quest will return this year on Saturday.
Participants need to be registered before the event through the Fifties Festival website.
Mr Chessari said in another festival highlight Tallangatta Secondary College would screen a documentary in the centre of town on Saturday night.
“Current students interviewed people who grew up in the fifties about the life of a teenager,” he said.
Rockin Daddys will entertain on Saturday from 8pm until late.
Sunday is the festival's big day with classic cars, market stalls, vintage engines and children's entertainment all on the bill.
Visitors can inspect more than 100 Classic Cars in the Show ‘n’ Shine competition.
There will be dancing featuring Wilbur Wilde and The Troublemakers supported by Rockin Daddys.
There will be children’s entertainment, street stalls, side show, buskers and dancing until 4pm.
The Tallangatta Fifties Festival started in 1999 and the Rotary Club of Tallangatta has been involved for the past three years.
For details visit www.tallangattafifties.com.au.
