Okay okay okay. I know. Chattanooga isn’t Atlanta, but given how wide the Metro Atlanta area is, it’s not far and a lot of Atlanta folks and shops were there. So. We’re counting it. Plus I love Chattanooga, so a reason to visit is always welcome.

I have been seeing people share Riverside coverage for years, gushing over how much of a great time it was and that it was too short like always, but I’ve never been able to make it out, – until this year, and now I understand the hype. This year we only made it to the main event on Saturday and I was happy to see despite a 12p opening time folks were let in early, so we were able to get into the event around 11:30. I was told to lead the way and asked where I wanted to start and honestly, there was no right answer to that. There was so much to see everywhere from vendor booth cars, merch booths, displays, food trucks, the show cars parked outside the pavilion- the only guarantee to have was to be guaranteed to miss something.

As the time went on and we worked our way through the inside, then outside of the event it was evident- this was an event for every enthusiast. The cars were diverse, builds from mild to wild, trendy to obscure ( I think I heard the owner of the Subaru SVX tell people what it was at least three times while I was shooting, and I was only there a few moments), JDM imported cars, street cars of all shapes, even an off road civic, a few off road trucks and someone’s roof top tent on their slammed VW wagon. The people reflected that same diversity, and there was an over all happy vibe to the entire day, everyone was having a good time even as the crowd grew and it became harder to get through the busier places.

We did wind up skipping over some of the clothing merch closer to the field, as by the time we made it that direction it was very very crowded and neither of us felt like there was anything we absolutely had to have, and if we’re being completely transparent, the hanger had begun to set in. The food trucks were cranking out food as quickly as possible and everything smelled delicious. What looked like it might have been too many coffee trucks seemingly wasn’t enough, and those lines also stayed busy. I’ve reached out to the good folks at Riverside to see if they have a rough estimate on how many people were in attendance, but even without their number, we can give an idea: a whole whole lot.

If the vibes Friday night are as good as they were during the day Saturday I completely understand why Riverside is a must-attend event for so many people, and why so many are wistfully recounting the days spent amongst fellow car enthusiasts. This is absolutely an event that I will continue to try to make it to every year going forward, and maybe make a whole weekend out of it in a fantastic city while we’re at it.