Rat's Nest Run In 2023

 It advertises itself as the "Koolest Car Show in the Northeast" and well, who am I to argue? The Rats Nest Run In, held annually at the Blackthorne Resort in East Durham, NY is exactly what you want to see from an old school car show. It doesn't have the rules and regulations of Viva Las Vegas and it doesn't have the big name bands of SummerFest. The Run In brings out bad ass cars and trucks, some all original and some modified to all hell. The bands are a healthy mix up of local musicians that aren't trying to sound like they just walked out of the 1950's, while still showing appreciation for those that did. 

I first popped in to the Rat's Nest Run In back in 2019 and fell in love with it at the time. I'd had great intentions ever since to return and this year, I finally put everything else to the side and made it happen. I rode up with a few other members of the Woodstock chapter of Harley Owners Group and the ride alone was absolutely incredible. A looping maze of twists and turns through the heavily treed Catskills was the perfect appetizer for such a fantastic entrée as one receives at the Blackthorne Resort.

 Getting to the Run In, we were greeted with a very welcome midafternoon sensory overload. The smell of burnt rubber from the burn out pit, the sounds of live rockabilly music, the sights of the cars and trucks that make up the main event: this place is everything that I've been craving since leaving Las Vegas, but all done with an East Coast flair and surrounded by evergreens instead of desert heat.

Blackthorne Resort is the perfect set up for an event like this. They hold the Catskill Mountain Thunder motorcycle run every September, a fairly fantastic Halloween celebration and dozens of other events throughout the year. The Rats Nest Run In itself is great for a day trip, but they also have a hotel, cabins and an RV resort if one decides to make a whole weekend out of this event, or any other for that matter.

There's plenty of food and drink available between the vendors and the main pavilion. The open yard is packed to the gills with a multitude of cars and trucks from generations past. A ring of swap meet tents encircles the cars in case you need manifold covers for your '57 Chevy, an out of print Harley belt buckle or just an event T-shirt to remind yourself to come back again. The stage hosts a multitude of bands throughout the day, punctuated by burlesque dancers and pinup competitions, another wonderful throwback to the days of yore.

One of my favorite things about the Run In is that it stays true to itself. The cars aren't sparkling and perfect. The tires aren't sprayed down while sitting in the grass fields and here and there you can espy painted over Bondo patchwork. The bands aren't radio friendly crap either. Hell, the Jonee Earthquake band covers GG Allin! The girls aren't even trying to be magazine cover models, beautiful as they may are. No, they are all too good for that. Because this is the real world, these are real automobiles, this is real music and these are real women. The Run In has the flavor of reality, no over polished bull shit here. This is why I will be back year after year. Take your chrome polish somewhere else. I'm going to the Rats Nest Run In to watch the dirt fly.