Viva is done for another year and I have to say that of all my 4 years going this year was the best..ever. I don’t know why because the bands, the vibe and the weather were just as awesome but something just clicked and made this weekend truly a showstopper for me. Now I’m a bit sad it’s over but I have 2016 to look forward to as I have my room already booked. Woo hoo!

(Note: Check out my posts on Thursday & Friday & Saturday & Sunday)

And on that note, lets check out what I did on the Wednesday the day before the event officially started.

on the plane to VLV 18 — On the Plane! Sorry an Iphone photo pic.

I have found that coming into Vegas the day before Viva is the best way to go because it allows you to have at least one day to do some sightseeing, sleep, veg out by the pool etc. For us it allows us to go to Frankie’s Tiki Room and then do Kitschy but fun Fremont St. This has become a tradition that I absolutely love and this year was no exception.

Up first..room check in! I had a friend who is not really into the world of Rockabilly and Vintage attending with me this year and her comment as we walked into the lobby and she saw everyone hanging around there all dressed up was..”Wow this is overwhelming”. I turned to her and said “dear, you have seen nothing yet!”.

Viva las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend 18 New Orleans Hotel-Vintage Style / Rockabilly Style. — My Friend Liisa and I in the front lobby at Check in (My Vintage Dress is from Cabaret Vintage in Toronto)

Unpacked, vegged out and now it’s time to hit up Frankie’s Tiki Room. I had brought a Tiki Dress but I honestly was just not feeling it so I went with my vintage Mexican skirt (purchased from Cabaret Vintage) and white top from Collectif (purchased in Toronto at Loveless boutique).

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Collectif are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Frankie's Tiki Room Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend 18-Sign — The Big Question.

Just like last year a good group of friends made the trek by cab (the worst cab driver though lol) to Frankie’s. I was so excited because I could not wait for a yummy Tiki Drink or 2!

Frankie's Tiki Room Las Vegas VLV 18-Tiki Drinks and Tiki Style — The lovely Kassandra Love and I enjoying whatever we were drinking.

Frankie's Tiki Room Las Vegas VLV 18 -Tiki Drinks, Tiki Style and Rockabilly Style — Some of the VIVA Gang. I love my new camera and I love that I’m holding 2 drinks!

While I was at Frankie’s I was excited to have the fantastic “Miss Victory Violet” and her really nice husband Matt join us at our table. I have been following her blog for some time as she has the most amazing wardrobe and so it was wonderful to finally meet her in person. They are from New Zealand and are currently doing a whirlwind tour all over various countries.

Frankie's Tiki Room with Miss Victory Violet -Tiki Bar / Tiki Style / Pinup Style — The Vintage Inn meets Miss Victory Violet

One last Frankie Photo…

Frankie's Tiki Room VLV 18 2015-Tiki Style, Tiki Statue, Pinup Style. — Tiki gods are the best.

Then we jumped in a cab and ventured off to Fremont St. to see what adventures we could get into. Of course the first thing we had to do was get our picture taken at Binions with the Million Dollars (note Binions took a blurry shot of us, not my fault).

Binions las vegas million dollars picture. — So close but yet so far

Then we met some Canadian Viva attendees while wandering. My husband joined their Black Shirt Gang 🙂

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. group of attendees. — Canadian’s only wear black shirts. True Story.

Zoltar! My friend Liisa needed to get her fortune told by this ancient and supposedly wise man.

Zoltar Fremont St. Las Vegas — What is that you say Zoltar?

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. Viva las Vegas rockabilly weekender — What does the ancient card say?

I think her fortune told her that she would find the strangest but yet pretty darn good chips seen below.

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. — Herri’s brand can do no wrong.

Fremont is so bright and pretty and a bit gawdy but I like it that way.

Anyone for $0.99 Deep Fried Twinkie? Or Oreo?

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. Glitter Gulch famous sign.

Let the Lightshow Begin! This is always cool and I never get bored of seeing it.

One of the things I really like about Fremont St. is how there are lots of cool vintage neon signs all over the strip. Here are some of them.

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. Vintage Signs. Giant Martini Glass

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. East District signs.

Can’t stand this beer, but I LOVE the sign (The Beer of Rockabilly weekenders everywhere).

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. Pabst blue ribbon neon sign.

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. giant palm tree with dice neon sign. — Kassandra and the Giant Palm Tree coming to a theatre near you

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. giant flamingo neon sign. — I Love Flamingos!

And then the night was done with one final picture.

VLV 18 2015 Fremont St. Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly weekender group of attendees.

Have you ever been to Vegas, Fremont St. or Frankie’s? Or maybe all of them. If so tell me your favorite parts!

Further Reading:

Liz 🙂

In short time I will be in hot, sunny Las Vegas for the “Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender“. I’m very excited to be exiting cold Toronto and spending 6 days surrounded by cool music, cool clothes, cool people and even cooler dancing, but NOT cold weather.

Vintage 1950s / Early 1960s photo of a couple dancing Rock n Roll / Jive Dancing / Swing Dancing. Learn more about Rockabilly dances (bop, stroll & jive) at the Vintage Inn blog.

As a Lindy Hopper, I love to dance and I love to watch dancing and at Viva there are lots of all of that. There are Jivers, Lindy Hoppers, Boppers and Strollers and even once in a while I have seen some two steppers. Dancers from all over the world converge once a year on Las Vegas to listen and dance to some of the best artists in the Rockabilly scene past and present and I am one of them.

At Viva, Lindy Hop (my dance) is not your typical dance done, in fact it is in the small percentile of dances seen on the dance floor. The Jive, Boogie Woogie, Bop and Stroll take the lead.

Right now you might be scratching you head and asking, what exactly are these dances you speak of? Let me help you out.

The Vintage Dances You Will See At Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend

The”Rockabilly Jive”

Rockabilly Jive Dancing- Vinage 1940s photo of a man dancing with two women.

The Rockabilly Jive dance style comes from the south of the United States and was first introduced by the military during World War II, inspired by swing and rock’n’roll. Then, in the early 50s, it adopted the rhythms of rockabilly music (mix of country and rhythm and blues).

Accessible by its simple steps (done on a one-two-turn-return, one-two-turn-return, one-two-turn-return count), this dance also allows many acrobatic moves, which makes it joyfully energetic!

Since the late 90s, Rockabilly Jive has regained popularity. Indeed, this dynamic and vibrant dance has won new fans, with people who enjoy the rebellious spirit of the 1950s (Source).

Jive dancing at the VIVA Pool Party-the women is wearing a vintage 1950s two piece swimsuit. — Source: The Sartorialist

Here is a video from Viva’s Jive Contest in 2023.

The Stroll

The stroll you see at Rockabilly events is not the original Stroll (seen below) that involved holding the hand of your partner as your “strolled” down the center.

The stroll of today is a repeating dance mostly done by the ladies but I have seen guys jump into the lines on a few occasions, but 99% of the time it’s mostly ladies (but guys..join the fun!). Once you get the pattern, it’s pretty simple to do and great way to dance if you don’t have a partner.

Music tends to be bouncy RnB, slower beats and rockin’ garage tunes.

Here is yours truly and some friends doing the “stroll” at Viva many moons ago. Gosh I look lost.

Boppin’

This dance I have never heard of until I went to VIVA but apparently I have been doing a version of it almost every-time I went out dancing and did not have a partner.

According to Miss Wolff’s Jiving School:

This wild solo freestyle dance was more of a man’s dance from the ’30s to the ’50s, but in this equal opportunity millennium, gals and guys alike bop around with this fast crazy dance, popular worldwide, after remaining far underground for most of the ’60s.

This is a great workout – think rockabilly aerobics! Bopping is a passion-filled mix of tap, step and jive beats fueled by your love and feeling of the beat, the beat, the BEAT, each person feeling it in their own way.

Boogie Woogie

I honestly never heard of this dance until about 5 years ago and then I realized that I had been seeing it on the VIVA dance floor many times. Like Lindy Hop, it’s not as popular as Jiving at the event but you will still see it.

About: Although its music had its beginnings in the 1870s, and its glory period from the 1920s to the 1940s, the dance didn’t emerge until a little later. The dance known as Boogie Woogie took influence from what was danced to Rock ‘n’ Roll music in the 1950s, and has certain similarities to Lindy Hop (Source). The 6-count footwork of the dance is step step, triple-step, triple-step. It’s VERY Energetic!