Vintage rods, bands booked for Palouse

Vintage hot rod iron and live music will again take over downtown Palouse this weekend.

More than 100 car entries are expected for the seventh annual Palouse Hot Rod show Saturday June 4. The show will feature hot rods, jalopies and choppers beginning at 11 a.m. Cars are restricted to 1973 or older.

Event organizer Marc VanHarn said last year’s show brought in more than 120 cars. While he anticipates the same numbers this year, he has heard talk of a 30-plus group that may be coming from southern Idaho.

Live music starts at noon with the three musicians of Spokane’s Gorilla Chicken Rabbit arriving on one scooter.

“They roll in on one Vespa. All three of them on one scooter. It’s a short stint- they’ll be fun,” said VanHarn, adding he couldn’t quite describe their eclectic music style. The other two bands will be Cold Rail Blues and Bare Wires, both of Moscow.

New to the show this year is a performance by the Rolling Hills Derby Dames, a local roller derby team. Their performance begins at 3 p.m.

Registration is $10 per entry and cars can be entered the day of the show.

“This show is put together for people who build and drive their own cars,” VanHarn said.

As the show continues to grow, VanHarn believes they may bump back the year of the car make from 1973 to 1963.

VanHarn owns the Vintage Velocity Rods in downtown Palouse. The originator of the Hot Rod show, VanHarn builds custom-made cars at his shop.

He will enter his 1928 Hudson seven-passenger limousine and a 1952 Hudson Wasp.

“I built them completely myself,” he said.

A beer garden and a Texas Style BBQ hosted by CDs of Moscow will also be featured at the festival.