Kiwanis Car Show 2022

September 10, 2022 — The Kiwanis Club returned after a two-year absence to New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord for their 35th annual car show. It was somewhat disappointing. This was a show where you could count on high turnout and wide variety year after year. But it seems to be a victim of the general decline in interest I've observed in many shows, especially since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

Indeed, many former good shows have disappeared for good, such as the Vermont shows in Manchester and Bennington, the Hemmings Concours d'Elegance which was last held in Saratoga Springs, New York in 2019, and the biggest disappointment for car enthusiasts in the Eastern Massachusetts-Southern New Hampshire region, the permanent closure of the popular Skip's Snack Bar in Merrimac, Massachusetts. Skip's held bi-weekly cruise nights and an annual mega-cruise for the last 25 years of their more than 70-year history. This past season they had no car shows and limited open hours due to inability to get help and announced at the end of the season it would be their last.

Record heat and high fuel cost may have been responsible for some of the decline this season. If that's the case, maybe we can hope for a rebound if weather and gas return to more reasonable levels. My photos of one of the smallest-ever Kiwanis shows can be viewed at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/kiwanis22/