Kenyon, Minnesota, welcomes visitors to its recent Rose Fest.
WOULD YOU EXPECT to find roses at a car show?
I thought not.
One of many beautiful roses spotted at the car show.
But in the small southern Minnesota community of Kenyon, organizers of the Rose Fest Car Show handed out roses to early arrivals. How sweet is that?
Another rose spotted…
An unexpected surprise. A rose on a dashboard. A rose lying on a car seat. A rose on an engine.
Kenyon’s Boulevard of Roses cuts through Minnesota Highway 60. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.
Now I’ve been to quite a number of car shows, but never to the one in Kenyon, where roses are planted for blocks in the boulevard of Minnesota State Highway 60 running through the heart of town.
This car show impressed me. I can’t pinpoint precisely why I so enjoyed this show. But I found lots to draw my eye from the quirky to the nostalgic to the shiny and more.
Enjoy these images from the Rose Fest Car Show. And then check back tomorrow for more photos.
Loved this car.
My absolute favorite moment, and shot. This boy was so immersed in admiring trophies that he didn’t even notice me.
But Chad noticed me because I asked him to stand still so I could photograph the tattoo of his 1958 VW bus Westfalia…
…which looks like this from the front…
…and this inside, all ready for camping.
Definitely not as family-friendly as Chad’s VW bus art.
Another favorite of mine, the Roadrunner.
Every vehicle is marked, so if you’re a serious student of vintage cars (I’m not), the necessary info is right there.
I’ve never seen anything like this backward opening hood.
© Copyright 2014 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
What a good car show. Brings back some memories. My husband used to have a VW bus. I guess that was the popular hippy transport in the early-mid ’70s. My uncle used to have a roadrunner. His was white with the tall fin/spoiler on the back. I don’t think very many of those were made. And that yellow car — what a beauty. All that fabulous chrome!
Seems like I brought back lots of wonderful memories for you w/ these images. Those were some sweet vehicles your family members owned.
Cool Captures – love the VW bus, the yellow Chevy and of course I love the muscle cars the BEST 🙂 Just give me a late-60’s, early-70’s muscle car to take to the open road and see ya! Happy Week
How interesting, because the muscle cars don’t particularly interest me.
I had a 1984 Buick Regal that I loved and souped up while in High School. I really longed for a ’69 to ’74 muscle car though. My uncle had a Shelby when I was in my 20’s and that was one sweet ride.
I bet lots of your friends wanted rides in your souped up Regal.
Yes they did! My dad eventually sold it because he got some good monies for it – miss that car.
Loved the photo’s, i think I am being convinced that a car show is in my future 🙂 On a side note my Aunt & Uncle lived in Kenyon so I visited this town a lot as a child. I was always drawn to the roses in the middle of the road separating the lanes of traffic. Memories flooded back to me when I saw the rose bush picture 🙂
I fully expect to see a car show blog post from you.
Just don’t hold your breath 🙂
OK, I won’t, but I think you should join your Dad at one of the car shows he attends.
Awesome photos as always. Love the VW —that one is ready to go on an adventure. The roses added a bit of softness to the whole event, didn’t they?
Yes, I really liked the roses.
Who’s Road Runner? Great looking car!
I agree. Lots of great looking vehicles at this car show.
I checked my photo files. Rob Schweich of Hastings owns the Roadrunner.