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/