Issue No. 15 October 1998

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Wintersun 1998 Kroozin' Nationals
Coolangatta/Tweed Twin Towns

A "Kustom" Perspective by ASRF member, Darryl von Weirdo.

This is a brief recollection of the '98 Wintersun event, as seen through the windscreen of a chopped E.K. sedan. For myself and many kustom, (with a 'k') owners, our main motivation for attending this particular event is the 50's music; more precisely, the rockabilly music. And once again we weren't disappointed by the hot line-up of bands, even though the Rockabilly stage and lack of dance floor is always pretty shoddy compared to the two commercial rock 'n' roll stages. Only a small gripe mind you, as all the night action more than made up for this!

Especially the Friday night, which includes the now famous Coolangatta Krooze, around the main street of the town. You'd swear that you were at a big-time event like the Paso Robles weekend, as there's so much Rod and Kustom action going on, with live bands playing in the background, and most of the shops open late! And doesn't the whole town just love it! Bill Stemm and friends were a big hit once again with their flamethrowers, plus once the street is re-opened to regular traffic there's plenty of music playing at venues all over the place. Hats off to the Kustom Kroozers for introducing the whole Friday night thing a few years ago, it's a winner!

The rest of the main Queen's Birthday weekend was a blast also, with beautiful weather, hundreds of pre '70 cars, over 30 bands and thousands of 50's and 60's fans from all over Australia and NZ. Obviously, with an event of this size there's bound to be a few problems, and there's always room for improvement. One of the major pluses for the Wintersun event is that the whole idea is about having fun, instead of worrying about serious judging and trophy hunting, as there's plenty of other shows for that, but only one Wintersun!

Congratulations to the Kroozers and Tweed Area Rodders for hosting yet another top weekend, and I've already booked for next year, along with a lot of other fans! You know the old saying, "Be there, or be square".