In aid of Cancer Research UK and the pursuit of jolly good fun, Vintage for Victory is a throwback bonanza with a 1940s, 50s, and 60s theme. Dress-up is a must: gals and chaps are expected to go nuts with the fashion explosions from their favourite decade on offer. On the weekend of Sat 15 and Sun 16 July in the Library Gardens of Whitchurch Village, a legion of dandies, greasers, and hep cats will meet a sea of petticoats, big hair, and mini-skirts.
The selection of retro-style bands and acts playing over the weekend are there to keep a toe-tapping, head-bopping, hip-shaking rhythm to a day filled with nostalgia about the good old days (just nobody mention the mass inequality, debt and national trauma from two devastating wars, a backdrop of racial tensions and lacking rights for minorities, just focus on the nice bits like bunting) – good food with delicious food vendors, and vintage fashion racks and goods stalls. For those unafraid to lose their seat, beginner’s Jiving lessons should pound some style into gifted shakers and dad-at-a-wedding shufflers alike. The names on the dance hall line-up will have vintage fans grabbed – the lovely Elle and the Pocket Belles, the twisting and hooting Rocket Joe Joe and the Old Time Bangers, the roaring soul of the Big What Band, and gentleman rap from Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer, just a taster of an all-killer line-up ready to whisk you back to more innocent (read less affluent) times.
Classic cars and bikes and the military vehicles of yesteryear will join the mighty Spitfire and Hurricane alongside a Vintage Carnival of traditional sideshow acts for the whole family. As a weekender that looks just as stylish as it sounds a right laugh, Vintage for Victory should be a doozy. Just don’t mention the war.
Vintage for Victory, Library Gardens, Whitchurch Village, Cardiff. Sat 15 + Sun 16 July. Tickets: £15. Info: www.vintageforvictory.co.uk
words JASON MACHLAB