page 2 kitsapweek Friday, May 23, 2014
Kustom
Continued from page 1 younger get in free. The festival features a VIP party with food, drinks and performances by The Twangshifters and Deke Dickerson. VIP admission is $60 and includes a two-day pass to the festival. Tickets can be purchased online at www. kustomcon.com or at the RockIt Roost in downtown Bremerton. It will be the sixth festival of its kind, featuring a car and motorcycle show, vendors, live music with 19 bands, pinup model pageants and more, each a considerable draw on its own. KUSTOM KULTURE Kustom Kulture is known in select circles but has remained, largely, an underground scene — a modern celebration of the ’40s/’50s/’60s era of hot rods, pin ups, greasers, rock ’n’ roll, and more. But it is an underground that is swelling, especially in
Kitsap. “It’s a culture of people that are really into the retro-inspired era of hot rods, motorcycles, the style of music from the ’50s and ’60s time frame,” Mitchell said. “Then you’ve even got the art aspect of it,” he said. “There’s an awful lot of inspiration for tattoos and people creating artwork.” It also inspired RockIt Roost, the Bremerton store owned by Mitchell and his wife, Hanah Reed. When the store opened in 2008, the couple didn’t realize it was the beginning of much more. “My wife and I opened the store in November 2008,” Mitchell said. “And in January of 2009 we recognized that we were a niche shop, appealing to the Kustom Kulture lifestyle. We recognized that if this is going to work, we had to do something.” That “something” was a festival. It would give RockIt Roost some exposure, and also act as a meet-and-greet for Kustom Kulture enthusiasts in
Dancing to rockabilly music at the 2013 Kustom Kulture Festival. Kitsap. The festival has transformed over the years and now features every angle of the scene, from cars to pinups and a whole lot of style. “You’ll see girls that are tattooed, yet they are dressed like the ’50s era, with the cat-eye sunglasses and ’50s dresses,” Mitchell said. “And the
An Italian Wine Tour In Your Backyard
guys will have the rolled up jeans with slicked back hair and pompadours. It’s really inspired by that era, but with a modern twist.” THE FESTIVAL “It became obvious that there was this underground culture in Kitsap County, but there were no events in Kitsap to get people together,” Mitchell
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said. “We started to see, after opening the store, that it was bigger than we had thought. But there was nobody in the county doing these kinds of events. They were going over to Seattle for it.” At first, Reed and Mitchell called it a “rockabilly” festival. But the name didn’t address everything included at the fest:
pinups, hot rods, greasers, tattoos and so forth. So as the event evolved, the Kustom Kulture Festival was born. “We never had any intention of it being an annual event,” Mitchell said. “It was just a one-shot idea, but it was a huge success and it kept going.” Its popularity rose so significantly that the event outgrew its original space at the Silverdale Beach Hotel. “The event has grown by no less than 20 percent across the board every single year,” Mitchell said. Last year’s Kustom Kulture Festival drew nearly 4,000 attendees, more than 300 cars and more than 200 motorcycles. Mitchell expects this year’s draw to echo the past. A considerable number of enthusiasts have already preregistered online for the car and motorcycle shows. Mitchell noted that an equal number of cars and motorcycles are usually registered at the festival. See Kustom, Page 3
UNITED WAY OF KITSAP COUNTY 1ST ANNUAL
GOLF CLASSIC 2014 Sponsorships and Foursomes still Available!
JUNE 25TH, 2014
Four Course Wine Tasting Dinner at Kiana Lodge
Gold Mountain Golf Club Olympic Course
Presented by Masi Shop Wine & Spirits
– June 13th –
Doors open at 5 p.m. 50 per person
$
(includes gratuity)
T
ransport yourself to the Italian vineyards at our June Wine Tasting Dinner. Dee Torres with Banfi Global will join us at the breathtaking Kiana Lodge to present the wines paired with each course of decadent Italian cuisine.
Visit http://kianalodge.com/events/open-public for more details
Seats are limited. Reserve your space by June 10th
Call 360-598-4311
1:00 pm Shotgun Start • Scramble Format $125 Registration Fee per player includes:
Proceeds Benefit
• Golf • Cart • Range Balls • Tee Prize • Light Lunch • Dinner following the Tournament MEDIA SPONSOR:
For More information, call the United Way of Kitsap office at 360.377.8505 OR WWW.UNITEDWAYKITSAP.ORG