It could have been a nostalgic return, but the city is so changed that if you dropped me in the middle of any part of it, I would find almost nothing I recognized. Thomas Wolfe wrote "You Can't Go Home Again" and that's very true.
It was a small but pleasant show, dominated by muscle cars, but with a few old standards, and many friendly owners who loved to talk about their cars. You can see what I saw at this link:
The Shaker Village is always impressive. Held late in the season, at least for New England, it usually features many valuable classics that are being exhibited for the last time before being put away for the winter. There are always many Model A Fords, an occasional Model T, a 12-cylinder 1941 Lincoln Continental and other classics, along with antique trucks.
Weather was a bit chilly but sunny. Fall color was dull from the long drought as was the case with the Castle Car Show two weeks ago. For an additional ticket price you can have a guided tour of the historic Shaker Village and its buildings, definitely worthwhile if you've never been there.
My photo coverage and a video can be seen at this link:
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/shakercars25/
Except for the loss of the Carriagetown Show, other shows have been growing in number of cars and spectators, and this show was no exception. I can't remember cars being so densely packed into the spacious field.
You can see my selection of some of the finest, along with a video showing the procedure for starting a steam-powered Stanley at this link:
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/castle2025/
You can't blame a lack of interest. The show attracted a few hundred vehicles and mobs of spectators right up to this year. Amesbury has a photogenic, hilly downtown with excellent restaurants and quaint shops, and the Powwow River tumbling down through its center.
This is just another of several excellent New England car shows that have been lost in recent years. I hope this isn't a trend for the future. The hobby needs more youthful participants. Be sure to select the following link to the final appearance of this excellent show.
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/carriagetown2025/
I look forward to this fall show every year, not one of the largest and you'll see some of the same vehicles year after year, but there are always a few pleasant surprises. Competition Motors and Bayberry bring some examples of their work most years.
There was a good turnout this year on this perfect sunny, warm fall day. I hope you enjoy my photos of what I considered exceptional standouts in an outstanding field. You can view them at this link:
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/rye25/
Follow this link to see some rare and unusual cars that enjoyed a mere 13 years of production:
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/metzday/
The show featured a good mix of classics, customs, some old and a few nearly new. Click or touch this link and enjoy:
But Atkinson is a popular, well-organized show, with good variety. If you go every year, you're going to find many of the same cars, but there are always a few surprises. You enter the show at Dow Common, a grass-covered area where many old Fords gather. There are more in the fire station parking lot, lining Academy Avenue, and surrounding the Atkinson Historical property. If you're new to the show, be sure to do some exploring so you won't miss anything.
I hope I didn't miss too much that I haven't photographed before. Check out my coverage for this year at:
Besides the bridge, the show fills about six blocks of Manchester's main drag Elm Street, several side streets and a park. All businesses on Elm Street are open, including restaurants. In addition, many independent food vendors show up for the show. Three live bands take turns playing. A jaws of life demonstration is staged by Manchester Fire Department. I didn't shoot it this year but I did in 2024 and videos and stills of it are still under last year's show on my site.
Take a look the 2025 show at this link:
It won't take you long to get through my small collection. Hollis Hills is a working farm and you'll find almost as many cows and chickens as cars. Just click or touch this link:
Their annual car show, beginning after 4 p.m., runs out the best picture-taking light too soon in the second half of August. This year we were keeping a wary eye out of hurricane Erin but it remained far out to sea and posed no problem. Check out my collection of photos at this link:
As far as the number and variety of trucks, it was an excellent show. There were trucks from a 1911 Mack all the way up to the '90s. But they filled the allotted field to near capacity. I have to wonder if there's adequate room for future expansion. That wasn't a concern at the sprawling airport.
Skip McKean's fleet of beautifully restored bright yellow Macks from Henniker, with the boast "The Only Henniker on Earth," painted on every truck," added color and humor to every show. They were nowhere to be found at this show, a disappointment.
With spectator parking no longer available at Calef's, parking was at a slightly hard to find lot a moderate distance from the show field. Not a long walk if you're in reasonably good shape, but a bit more tiring after a few hours on your feet at the show than it was at the beginning.
In spite of those complaints, I came away with a generous collection of photos of a variety of trucks, some you probably have never seen, nor even heard of. You can see them all at this link:
The talented cast pleased the nearly sold-out theater with music, dancing and drama in spectacular fashion. A standout was Adeera Harris as Ti Moune with her strong voice and sometimes heartbreaking performance. Noah Lyle played Daniel Beauxhomme, the subject of Ti's perilous journey. Mama Euralie (Tiffani Grace) and Tonton Julian (Timothy Adams, Jr.) were Ti's adoptive parents. Collin Geter, Felicia Fields and Arin Francis play multiple roles. The gods are portrayed by KJ Nugin, Jada Bennett and Najim Muhammad.
I'm giving the little girl who really charmed the audience anonymous mention. She appeared to be about 10, and I have a policy of not putting the names of minors out on the internet without permission, as much as I'd love to give her credit. At curtain call at the end of the play, she got the loudest cheers.
Once on This Island book and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens with music by Stephen Flaherty. Kira Sarai Helper directed the Winnipesaukee Playhouse presentation, with music direction by Jay Teamer and choreography by Ellicia Clayton. Scenic design was by Seth Howard and costumes by John Beltre.
I decided on Pepperell and it was the right decision. It featured some of the most glamorous cars of the season so far, in large numbers, enhanced by the gorgeous weather. The turnout was huge, the variety impressive, from beautifully restored '40s and '50s models, to a 1912 Buick, to the usual customs and personal cars, something to please every automotive taste.
You can view my photographic choices at this link:
This has been fairly successful. Three hours is enough for car viewing and photography. Being a racing museum, they tend to attract many race cars, but you'll usually find all classes of vehicles. Besides that, the Stable brings out some of their own cars, and more cars may be seen in an open car barn.
Take a look at my photos from this year's show. It's well worth a visit if you're in the vicinity. It's usually on a Sunday from 8 to 11 a.m. My pictures can be seen at this link:
This is the day Kingston Heritage Day returned its show to its former home on the Kingston Plains in Kingston, New Hampshire, and it was met with huge success as the spacious plains were filled almost to overflowing with show vehicles. Spectators were so numerous we were occasionally bumping into one another.
Seventy photos, my second largest collection this season, await your inspection at this link:
This year was no exception. You can view a small selection of the vehicles present for this year's show at this link:
Of course, there were also the usual muscle cars, customs and street rods. Overall, a good mix with something to please everyone. You can see the best of what I saw at this link:
The biggest show I've attended so far in this season of shows diminished by bad weather, the number of truly rare classic cars I've come to expect was disappointing. I'm not saying it wasn't worthwhile, it was. But it wasn't up to its high standards of previous years.
I've chosen some of the most interesting cars and trucks to photograph. I hope you enjoy my selection. There are also two quick videos. You can see it all at this link:
Take a look. There are just over fifty photos. Won't take up much of your time and there are some interesting cars:
It's 1590 in Elizabethan England and Nick Bottom (Ryan Halsaver) and Nigel Bottom (Jacob Erdody) are trying to stage a play, but they're competing with the greatest playwright the English language has ever known. Need I mention who? William Shakespeare (Lee Hollis Bussie, tall and dominating, preening and effete in garish costumes, in one of the best performances of the play).
When it's suggested to Nick they produce their play as a musical, he's dubious at first. You mean combine singing and dancing in the same play with dialog? Who ever heard of that? Shylock (Jorje Barranco) convinces Nick to go ahead with it and the resulting play is entitled "Omelette: The Musical" after Nostradamus misunderstands Hamlet as Omelette. That's not the worst pun in this production. Nostradamus is played by veteran comic actor Doug Shapiro, one of my favorites. He's always a show-stopper. He just takes all the oxygen out of the theater when he's on.
Outstanding song and dance numbers are the highlights of this production, performed by a multi-talented cast. There are also plenty of laughs. The story line is complicated. Nigel meets and falls in love with Portia (Mary McNulty). Brother Jeremiah (Scott Cote) discovers the lovers and imprisons Portia. Nick's wife, Bea (Rachel Alex Norman), discovers she's pregnant. In a court scene near the end, Nick, Nigel, Nostradamus and Shylock are sentenced to beheading.
The format of the program doesn't make all the actors and their roles clear, so I apologize if I've missed or misidentified any. There was an error in lighting. A row of lights of different colors were mounted above the stage, behind the actors. Occasionally, bright white lights came on briefly, causing those of us nearest the stage to shield our eyes and rendering actors nearly invisible.
My complaints are minor. This high-energy, beautifully directed and staged production will be hard to top for the rest of the season by any theater.
Sara Coombs was the choreographer and Michael Ursula music director. Alison Pugh did masterful work on the many costumes.
Heavy clouds persisted most of the day, no rain, but we didn't get the bright sun I prefer for photography. Still, I came away with 58 photos and a video, including a few planes and motorcycles along with cars and trucks, not a bad day's production. You can view it all here at:
Billed as a car and motorcycle show, it ran from 12 noon to 7 p.m. I arrived at noon and found less than a dozen cars. Three or four more may have drifted in before I left at 1:30, and no motorcycles. It wasn't convenient for me to spend another five-and-one-half hours there that day, so for all I know many more vehicles may have showed up.
But the cars I did see were gorgeous and made the trip worthwhile. A standout was a red 1942 Pontiac convertible. A couple of Camaros, a highly customized 1934 Hudson Terraplane, a Mercury Capri from around 1985 and a 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass rounded out the small collection. Because of the small number, I took pictures from multiple angles of some of the cars, particularly the Pontiac. You can view the results of my efforts at this link:
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/make-a-wish/
The cars were the cream of European luxury, such as McLaren, Porsche, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz and others. Flightcraft brought out some of their finest boats, and their showroom was open. Prices and payment options were attached to most boats. At least one topped half a million dollars.
Open this link for a look at what only the 1 per cent can afford:
https://www.linwoodstreet.com/mclarenunique/
No one, man nor woman, had a problem moving the '38 International, pulling it from a standstill with a rope and cable hookup. The 12-ton Manchester truck was a different story. No one could budge it except one exceptionally sturdy gentleman who managed to move it a few feet. It was finally towed by a couple of teams, one of which was all ladies.
There was also a small exhibit of cars. I've included three videos in my coverage, including towing by individuals and teams, and my ride in the International as I interviewed the driver. Be sure to play them, they're the best part. You can see it all here at:
This year two very high-mileage cars, both in remarkable condition, got my attention. One was a 1984 Pontiac Parisienne Brougham with 266,000 miles on the clock, all logged by the original owner. The other was a 2007 Chrysler 300C that's been 208,000 miles. This model is a luxurious but sedate sedan with little in common with the 1957 Chrysler 300C, a full-size muscle car, also pretty luxurious, one of Chrysler's fabled "letter" cars of the late '50s and early '60s.
This is a short series you can get through quickly. Have a look at:
I expected lots of muscle, custom and personal cars, the show being sponsored by a muscle car club, but at this show they dominated more than usual, with standard vehicles hard to find, but they were there if you had the time and patience to search this sprawling fairground, one of the largest in New Hampshire.
I included many muscle and customs, plus most unmodifieds I could find, including one from World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker's brief career as a car manufacturer and a Bentley allegedly used by Jackie Kennedy Onassis. And did you ever hear of the Jackson?
See these and other rare vehicles at:
There was a good mix of vehicles, old and new, domestic and imported, custom and unmodified. You can see my coverage of the show, somewhat dulled by leaden skies, at this link:
The weather broke at last on a Sunday (it rained Saturday) and I finally got to my first show on May 11, a full month at least later than many years. It was Bentley's Saloon's first show, one of many shows they put on every year at their saloon, restaurant, lodging and camping complex in Arundel, Maine. The weather was gorgeous, low 70s, bright sun. This was worth waiting for.
Forecast is for rain again this coming Saturday and Sunday, so I don't know when I'll be posting another show. Until then, you can see my coverage of Bentley's show at this link:
