Rock up to retro Rosedale

Rosedale will step back in time and with all things rockabilly, retro and vintage next Sunday.

Hosting its inaugural Retro Vintage Festival, the town will come alive with a vintage market, man cave stalls, a swap meet, dancers, buskers, hotrods and even vintage cakes.

Discover Rosedale member Phoebe Moncur said the festival was in tune with requests for vintage wares and events by shoppers in the town.

“The business owners have seen the need when they sell a lot of vintage and retro items, we’re opening a vintage pop-up shop next to Cafe 3847 for the whole weekend,” Ms Moncur said.

She attributed the interest growth in retro and vintage wares to American ‘picking’ reality television shows, which highlight the value of trash and treasure.

“People have been coming into businesses looking for retro and vintage items because it’s so popular,” Ms Moncur said.

With stall holders coming from as far as Queensland and Canberra, Discover Rosedale member Dina Tharle said 80 stores had secured their places in the market.

“It’s amazing, we didn’t think the swap meet would go as well as the retro vintage and the minute we popped it on Facebook we just couldn’t keep up with the enquiries, it just snowballed,” Ms Tharle said.

“We thought we’d have to organise everybody, but they’re pretty much organising us.”

With all vintage cars welcome to park along Lyon Street, Ms Moncur said there would be an array of vehicles of yesteryear including cars, tractors, engines and machinery on display.

Vintage caravan owner and exhibitor Doug Barratt said his club would bring nine 1960s era caravans, just as they were back then.

“They will all be decked out in the period fittings and utensils you used back in those days and bedding and pots and pans and everything,” Mr Barratt said.

“It’s taken us over 10 years to do them up.”

While there would be a large target market of people looking to pick up a vintage bargain, Ms Moncur said she expected people of all ages to join in the festival.

“I think there will be very mixed ages, the younger people will be looking for clothes while the older people will be looking to reminisce through their eras,” Ms Moncur said.

The festival will run from 8am to 2pm on Sunday, 20 July centred around the Mechanics Hall with a dance performance by Paper Dolls beginning at 11.30am.

For more information, or to register a stall, visit the Discover Rosedale Facebook page.