Get ready to put on your best vintage dress or suit and grab your dancing shoes, because Deco-Fest 2012 has arrived. The Buffalo Central Terminal will host this annual restoration fundraiser on June 16 with plenty of swing, blues, big band and rockabilly music from bands near and far that will keep guests out on the dance floor all night long.
The event is designed to take you back to the era of the Central Terminal’s origin and imagine what it was like to experience the art-deco building in 1929, when it first opened to the public. After an evening of being immersed in the swinging sounds and vintage styles of the Terminal’s early days, the importance of its preservation will become even more real. And with a full line-up of live bands, swing dance lessons, vaudeville performances and more, this festival will surely be the next best thing to traveling back in time.
The doors will open at 4 p.m. and the live music will start with The Vignettes, a local band from Barker, NY with a sound similar to The Andrews Sisters. If you’re new to swing dancing or need to brush up on the basics, Chuck Chazz and the Next Generation Swing and local non-profit Swing Buffalo will be giving dance lessons and demos in between sets. Rochester-based Krypton 88 will be taking the stage around 6 p.m. with their rockabilly swing style. After a dance demo from Chuck Chazz, Toronto-based band The Millwinders will take over with more rockabilly, honky-tonk style songs. Swing Buffalo will be offering another dance demo and then Buffalo-based Kickstart Rumble will kick off their first Deco-Fest appearance with a vintage rock n’ roll set.
The first of the dual-headlining bands, New York City-based Double Down, will take the stage at 9 p.m. Their big-band style with a modern twist will surely get you out on the dance floor to put those lessons to good use. The second headliner, New Jersey-based Gas House Gorillas will round out the evening at 10 p.m. with their high-energy jump blues and swing numbers.
If you’re not courageous enough to venture out on the dance floor, or your feet just need a rest at some point during the evening, there will be plenty of other things to entertain you. Peruse the vintage items being sold by the Deco-Fest vendors, including Cats Like Us, Kitch Towels, Dungaree Dolly’s, and Born in Buffalo. Scarlet Noir Photographic will also be available to snap some pin-up style shots of you in all your vintage glory inside the Central Terminal (time slots need to be reserved). Before the final set by the Gas House Gorillas at 10 p.m., there will be a Miss Deco-Fest Contest to select the Buffalo girl with the most swing and style who will represent the Central Terminal. There will also be vaudeville-style performances from Chelsea Green of Pole Play Dance Studio and Eye Candy Burlesque. Some of Western New York’s prime vintage cars will be at the Lost Kustoms Car Show being held during the festival in the Central Terminal parking lot. And if you get hungry, there will be a cash bar and food provided by Pott’s Deli.
Tickets will be $15 pre-sale and $20 the day of the event. You can get your tickets online on the Deco-Fest website or pick them up at Cats Like Us, located at 67 Main Street in Tonawanda, or at Miss Josie’s at 2824 Delaware Avenue in Kenmore. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards restoring the Central Terminal, located at 495 Paderewski Drive, Buffalo NY.