1 Weekend, 2 Shows

June 4-5, 2022 — A weekend of perfect weather guaranteed success for two popular car shows. First, on Saturday, Goffstown Rotary Club in Goffstown, New Hampshire held its 9th annual show featuring an eclectic collection of cars of all makes and years, classic and custom, both domestic and imported.

With temperature in the low 70s and low humidity, it was far more comfortable than the past two weekends that saw the thermometer soar to an unseasonable 90 with humidity in the oppressive range. We expect this kind of whether in July, but our bodies just weren't ready for it this soon.

Sunday was a carbon copy of Saturday weather-wise for the 12th annual Marlborough Main Street Car Show, held in downtown Marlborough, Massachusetts. Returning after a two-year absence due to COVID, pent-up spectators came out en masse, filling Main Street with a crowd so dense it was difficult to move around. Photography was challenging.

The show in the past had a good mix, but was slightly dominated by customs this year. The classics had a larger share in previous years. Even imports, well-represented in the past, were hard to find. Still, it was worthwhile, always one of my favorite early-season shows, and I expect I'll be there in the future.

The Goffstown series can be seen at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/goffstown2022/

Select this link to view the Marlborough photos, including one video:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/marlborough22/

Londonderry Rotary Car Show

May 29, 2022 — Another bright, sunny day, but not as hot as the two previous weekends. I had given up on the Londonderry Rotary Club Classic Car Show after finding less than twenty unremarkable cars my last time there a few years ago. I never returned up until this year when I decided to give it another chance. I was pleasantly surprised. There were over one hundred cars in a wide range of categories, and a large turnout of spectators.

You'll find my photos of some of the most appealing vehicles, at least in my opinion, at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/londonderry2022/

Granite State Season Opener

May 22, 2022 — The Granite State Season Opener, one of the largest car shows in New Hampshire, presented by NH Muscle Cars, is held on the sprawling Deerfield Fairgrounds. For the first time this year it was a three-day show, held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 20-22. It rained Friday, fair Saturday and Sunday, but the temperature was over 90 with high humidity. As much as I wanted to see the show, I stayed home Saturday because I knew covering the huge field of hundreds of cars would be the equivalent of walking several miles in dangerous heat.

I decided to go Sunday, fully aware most show car owners who hadn't left Saturday would be preparing to leave Sunday and the show would be greatly diminished. I was right about that. But of the few cars remaining, there were some rare and unique examples. I arrived at 9 a.m. and left at 10:30 with all the photos I wanted, a mere forty. Have a look. It will only take a few minutes to go through the single page of photos at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/graniteopener22/

Bow Rotary Car Show

May 14, 2022 — The Bow Rotary Club in Bow, New Hampshire, held its 11th annual car show on the first 90-degree day of the season, much too early for that kind of heat, and it broke records for the date in some areas. It may also have discouraged some from showing up, as both show cars and spectators were below average for this show.

Still, it was a good show with a good variety of cars. There were a few really outstanding entries, especially a couple of beautifully restored pickup trucks. You can see them all at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/bowrotary22/

Bentley's Saloon

May 8, 2022 — The Bentley's Saloon car shows are "car shows with benefits." Bentley's is a complex of saloon, restaurant and campground and plenty of acreage for a car show on U.S Route 1 in Arundel, Maine. They have cruise nights throughout the season, bracketed by an all-day first-of-the-season show in the spring and a season-ending show in the fall. I attended the 2022 first-of-season show for the second time this year.

The show draws a good mix old and new, classic and custom cars. There are usually many humorous entries. You can see my coverage of this spring's show at:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/bentleys2022/

A Car Show for Veterans

April 30, 2022 — New England Car Show for Veterans was held on the Northern Essex Community College campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Two long lines of show cars and spectators formed at the beginning in an exceptionally strong turnout for such an early-in-the-season show. When I left, shortly after noontime, they were still coming in with less than two hours remaining in the show.

The show was an eclectic mix of old and new, domestic and imported, military and civilian, classic and custom. There were at least a half dozen Lamborghinis, an unusually high number of that make to appear in a single show. Of the more than 200 cars (my estimate), I ended up with 58 photos. I hope you agree with my choices. You can see them at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/carsforvets/

Season's First

April 16, 2022 — This was an earlier than average start for the antique and classic car show season. My first show often is not until May. This show at the North East Motosports Museum in Loudon, New Hampshire, featured racing cars, not my main category of interest.

But also at this show was a 1912 Stanley Model 74, steam-powered, in which rides were offered to show attendees. That I couldn't resist! Video of my ride, along with photos of many of the race cars, can be seen at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/racersreunion/