Rust Rods Car Show

September 19, 2026 — One of my favorite car shows was the one called Carriagetown in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Originally called Mayor Gray's Carriagetown when Amesbury Mayor Ken Gray, a car guy like us, happily turned over his city to a car show once a year. The show filled nearly every inch of the picturesque downtown area with the Powwow River tumbling down through the city center, wooden stairways to take you up and down through the hilly area, century-old brick buildings, quaint shops, a carriage museum and fine restaurants. The city itself provided as many photo ops as the cars. 

When a new mayor was elected, we were encouraged when the car shows continued. But it was to be short-lived. Within three years the city chose not to continue to host the show. That was devastating news for car aficionados at a time when many car shows were in decline or being discontinued.

Enter Rust Rods Car Show and Munters. They came to the rescue of Carriagetown with a show as big as the original on the sprawling property of Munters, an energy-efficient and climate control business with a long history in Amesbury. They did a great job of putting an excellent show together in a short time. We're grateful, but it's a parking lot show without the charm of Amesbury's central downtown. But I wish them success. I sincerely hope they can keep it going.

But you can still make the short drive over to the downtown area after the show and dine at one of the fine restaurants, visit the carriage museum, or just walk around. I went to my favorite Amesbury lunch stop,  Flatbread, for a pizza. It was like old times.

Click or touch this link to check out this year's show at Munters:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/rustrods/ 

Dublin Gas Engine Meet

September 12, 2026 — This was not one of my typical car shows. Yes, there were cars and trucks, but Dublin Gas Engine in Dublin, New Hampshire, is dedicated to preserving America's agricultural and industrial history.

There were lots and lots of farm tractors, gasoline engines powering everything from saw mills to an old-fashioned washing machine like your grandmother may have used, and many very complicated machines built by local hobbyists that seemed to do nothing at all except burn gasoline, a very expensive hobby I would imagine in these times.

Those who expect to find cars in my pages won't be disappointed. There were many vehicles of all descriptions, especially Model A and Model T Fords. You can see my coverage of this unusual event at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/gasenginemeet/ 

Atkinson's Annual Labor Day Show

September 7, 2026 — Atkinson Lions Club and Atkinson Fire Association Truck and Car Show, always held on Labor Day Monday in Atkinson, New Hampshire, is one of my "can't miss" shows. Not one of the biggest or best-known shows nationally, it always attracts a surprising variety of vehicles. For example, when did you last see a 1924 Studebaker, 1933 DeSoto and 1934 Ford paddy wagon in the same show?

The show always features a large selection of Model T and Model A Fords, some beautifully restored, some all original, some expertly customized. Many show cars return year after year, but there are always surprises as mentioned in my first paragraph.

The weather was perfect, comfortably warm and dry, appreciated at the end of a summer of extreme heat. You can see my photographic choices at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/atkinson26/ 

 

Cruising Downtown 2026

September 5, 2026 — Manchester, New Hampshire's 25th season of Cruising Downtown, hosted by the Rotary Club, was held the Saturday of Labor Day weekend as usual. It has now grown to possibly the biggest car show in New Hampshire and one of the biggest in New England, often hosting 1,000 cars and at least once slightly more. However, this year's show may have been diminished slightly by threatening clouds and forecasts of spot showers.

There was one brief shower during the show. Many convertibles had their tops lowered but I didn't notice any rush to put them up. Unfortunately, it caused me to decline to walk out on the long Notre Dame Bridge across the Merrimack River where many more cars were on display, almost another car show. I didn't think getting caught in a surprise shower on the bridge would be a good idea, more concerned with keeping my camera dry than myself. At least, in town you could duck into a doorway for shelter.

But it was the second highest number of cars I photographed at a show this season, the highest so far being Misselwood. You can view my photos at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/cruising2026/ 

 

 

Cool & Classic Car Show

August 22, 2026 — This has to be the longest title for a car show I've seen in the 20 years I've been doing this: NH's Cool & Classic Car Show at the Bark in the Park Wag Around the World Festival. It was held at Rollins Park in Concord, New Hampshire and combined dogs and cars for those two interest groups.

It wasn't exactly a dog show but more like an invitation to bring your dog to a craft fair to accompany you while you shopped and explored. There were dozens of booths, many but not all canine related. The park was divided into sections named for the major continents, and K9 police demos. A small car show was isolated from the dog show.

Photography of dogs was difficult because they were constantly moving as their owners explored, but I managed to get photos of some of the most interesting breeds. See how many you can identify. I felt right at home in the cars section, dominated by Corvettes, but there were a few other makes. My specialty is photographing stationary objects which dogs are definitely not. But I got some video of dogs and police action in the K9 demos.

You can at least partially satisfy your passion for dogs or cars, or both, at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/coolandclassic/ 

Southern NH Snow Slickers

August 15, 2026 — If you're a brass era and classics fan, as I am, you won't find any Duesenbergs, Pierce Arrows or Locomobiles at this show, but you will find lots of color, humor, some fine examples of the cuistomizers' art, and a few old standards. Oh, and you might spot a Model A.

It was my second weekend in a row at the sprawling Deering Fairgrounds in Deering, New Hampshire. Last weekend the fairgrounds hosted Salute the Troops, dedicated to the very worthy cause of our veterans. There was a relatively small gathering of veterans' cars. This weekend the Southern NH Snow Slickers Car Show, a much larger gathering of cars, trucks and motorcycles, held forth. The Slickers being a snowmobile club, there was also an exhibit of snowmobiles, but I'm not ready for that yet. This summer went by so quickly I sometimes feel as though I missed it completely.

But I'll have my pictures to look at any time and reminisce, and so will you. My coverage of this weekend's show can be seen at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/snowslickers/ 

 

Salute the Troops

August 8, 2026 — Salute the Troops Charity Car Show at the Deerfield Fairgrounds in Deerfield, New Hampshire was dedicated to the cars, products, memorabilia, service and support for veterans. An enormous American flag and star-spangled gate greeted car owners as they entered the field. Row upon row of booths were manned by veterans.

No one is more deserving of our support and participation than the veterans. I was pleased to see a huge turnout to support them. I captured some of it in pictures you can view at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/salutetroops26/