Hot August Nights will be Aug. 15 in Downtown DeLand

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
Classy turquoise — Herb and Pauline Kretler drive by in a 1957 Chevy painted bright turquoise and white at the 2008 Downtown DeLand Hot August Nights celebration. "Rockin' Jerry the DJ" played music at the event.

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
Gator Nation — Steve Ballinger's 1934 Ford Coupe with three windows sports the Florida Gators' colors, blue and orange, at the first annual Hot August Nights in Downtown DeLand in 2008. The car was displayed with many other classic cars at the yearly event organized by the MainStreet DeLand Association.

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
As good as new— John Csanyi parks his burgundy 1936 Chevy pickup at Hot August Nights. This truck was one of many classic vehicles showcased at the yearly event in 2008.

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Aug 12, 2009 - 3:20:33pm

Need some good, good, good, good vibrations?

Lost that lovin' feeling?

Did you hear it through the grapevine — that you were born, born to be wild?

(Are you wondering when the rhetoric will end?)

If our questions made you think about hot chicks and cool dudes, fab cars and The Fonz, then you're in a 1960s frame of mind.

And, there's a place to get your nostalgia fix: Downtown DeLand.

Downtown DeLand will get its righteous groove on and bring back the 1950s and '60s at the second annual Hot August Nights celebration, 4-9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15.

MainStreet DeLand Association Executive Director Jack Becker said last year was the initial kickoff of the event, and he wasn't sure it would catch on.

"I was praying for 50 cars," he said. "We had well over 200 cars last year."

This year, he said, there will be more than 400 slick rides.

"Indiana is closed on both sides just for classic cars," Becker said.

Entertainment will feature classic tunes played by DJ "Butch" from WJBJ, and a slick performance of Grease by the Millennium Musicians Middle High Show Choir.

Stages for music and other performances will be on the northeast corner of the intersection of Indiana Avenue and Woodland Boulevard, near Stetson Flower and Gift Shop.

Hot August Nights is the perfect opportunity to cruise the streets, and nab some sizzling deals in the process.

"The merchants will all have open houses," Becker said,

The open houses will feature scorching back-to-school specials, which makes it a perfect time to pick up some righteous new threads for your little hepcats and hepkittens.

Local Rotary clubs will host a beer garden at Mainstreet Grill, 100 E. New York Ave., as a fundraiser for Volusia Honor Air. Donations will help pay for World War II veterans to visit the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

If you're just not digging classic cars, poodle skirts and ducktails, then grab your bell-bottoms and daisy crowns for some grooviness at the Athens.

Exactly 40 years after the original rock festival Woodstock, the newly restored Athens Theatre, 124 N. Florida Ave., will stage "Athens Rocks Woodstock," a concert by numerous bands and singers. Tickets for the Woodstock event cost $20 in advance, or $25 on the day of the concert. Buy tickets online at www.athenstheatre.org.

"Come downtown," Becker said. "Look around, and stay awhile."

For more information, call MainStreet DeLand at (386) 738-0649, or visit www.mainstreetdeland.com.

For showtimes, and for more information about the Athens, visit www.athenstheatre.org.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

Comment on this article

Commenting is closed for this article.

If you would like to contribute a letter to the editor, please click here.

Did you find this story interesting or informative? Subscribe to The DeLand-Deltona Beacon to read more stories by Jen Horton, along with others from our award-winning writers. Subscribe now!