The Big Shindig returns to Kalispell
CARTER COLBY shines his dad’s (Mark Colby) 1938 Ford Coupe at The Big Shindig in 2016 at Desoto Grill.
BAMBI ERVING, in her “Montana Dear” pin-up girl persona, poses for a picture during The Big Shindig in 2016. (Aaric Bryan photos/Daily Inter Lake, file)
TUCKER LANDERMANn rides his custom S and S Stroker during The Big Shindig in 2016. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
Up to 150 hot rods are expected to gather at DeSoto Grill in Kalispell for The Big Shindig, Friday, June 23 and Saturday, June 24.
The second-annual event attracts a wide range of hot rod, custom and classic cars from around the country for two days of live music, pin-up girls and loads of BBQ from the restaurant.
All events are free for the public to attend. Cars must register Saturday morning and pay a $20 entrance fee. Those proceeds, and monies raised in an auction, will benefit Makayla’s Miracles and Blessings, a local nonprofit that provides vans to handicapped children and their families.
Friday night, out-of-town cars can line up beginning at 5 p.m. in front of the restaurant while Colton Christensen provides live music. The festivities move inside for an adults-only performance by The Fishnets from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.
All of Saturday’s activities are family friendly, and the day begins with registration and hot rod parking no earlier than 8 a.m. The event officially kicks off at 11 a.m.
Hot rods and other cars from 1964 or earlier will be on display until 4 p.m. Saturday, accompanied by live music from The Infernals, Mike Murray, Badger Hound and The Lucitones. DeSoto food and a variety of beers will also be on sale. The auction — which includes a $1,300 Winchester rifle and signed Drew Bledsoe jersey — is also Saturday, along with face painting, other kid-friendly activities and a downtown Kalispell poker walk.
The Pin-Up Polar Plunge returns Saturday, too, a contest in which women dressed as 1950s pin-up girls are challenged to put at least one body part into a large tub of ice water. Those who submerge all the way up to their neck will have a chance to win additional prizes.
Awards will be handed out for the pin-up girls and hot rods Saturday afternoon, and the event concludes with a hot rod cruise down Main Street at 7 p.m.
For more information, contact DeSoto Grill at 406-314-6095.