Brimfield Antique Auto Show

October 7, 2017 — Where have the years gone? It seems like no time at all has gone by since I attended the first car show in Brimfield, Massachusetts. Now they've just held their ninth, and they're looking forward to their tenth anniversary next year.

That first year was small, probably less than 200 vehicles. I went to two more of their shows, the last time in 2012, and observed on this blog that the show was growing "exponentially." That's still true. This year's show featured 704 vehicles.

The show is held at the Heart-o-the-Mart on U.S. Route 20 in the Pioneer Valley of central Massachusetts, on a sprawling field, bordered on one side by a river, with lots of trees. Usually, at this time of year, the trees are in full fall color, but unseasonably warm weather this fall seems to be leading to dull color, and in many cases leaves are falling before they change. The day of the show felt like the dog days of August. This show was sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Brimfield, and all proceeds were going to renovate the 1848 church.

My first impression when I walked onto the field was one of disappointment. One of my pet peeves is cars with their hoods up, making for poor pictures, at least in my opinion. As I scanned the fields, it appeared all cars had their hoods up. I felt I was walking into a sea of gaping alligators. I had a notion to turn around and go home, even after the nearly two-hour drive to get there. But as I walked around the fields, I found some cars with hoods down, and the cars of the '20s and '30s with "butterfly" hoods that had one side of the hood up, could be photographed from the opposite side. I also found some owners who gladly put their hoods down when asked. In the end, I came home with over 100 pictures, just about average.

My photos, a good variety including some never-before-seen vehicles, can be viewed at:

http://www.linwoodstreet.com/brimfield17/