Little Red School House

October 15, 2022 — The Antique Vehicle Meet & Tour, sponsored by the Bean Pot Chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), is one of those must-see shows. Coming in mid-October, it often ends the car show season in the northeast, although this season it was followed by two more shows.

Held at the Tyngsboro-Dunstable Historical Society's Little Red School House & Field in Dunstable, Massachusetts, the picturesque 1798 school house and colorful New England fall foliage provide a photogenic backdrop for antique car display. The show draws many high-quality antiques, although many of the same cars tend to show up every year, a problem I'm having after covering shows in a relatively small geographic area of the northeast for seventeen years, with only occasional forays into New York state and Pennsylvania.

If you've been a regular visitor to my site for several years, you'll see repeat appearances by some cars, but I like to think their beauty deserves encores. You can view my effort at the Little Red School House at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/beanpot2022/

Brimfield Auto Show

October 8, 2022 — The Brimfield Auto Show has changed its name and location, but both only slightly. Formerly called the Brimfield Antique Auto Show, they have eliminated Antique from the title, opening it up to a more inclusive show, welcoming cars of all ages right up to the present. It does seem to have made the show much larger compared to previous years. They've also moved a few blocks on Route 20 from Heart-o-the-Mart to larger fields adjacent to the Brimfield Winery. Brimfield is located in central Massachusetts in an area known as the Pioneer Valley.

Personally, I preferred the Heart-o-the-Mart location. Opening up the show to models of all years has indeed resulted in a significant increase in cars, but even with the increased space, the show was over-crowded and over-busy. Cars were coming in almost all day, and by mid-day incoming and outgoing cars, maneuvering around spectators, were creating minor traffic jams. Long lines were forming at food vendors and comfort stations.

Those complaints aside, it was a productive show for photography. Proof of that can be seen on my website pages:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/brimfield22/

Castle Car Show

October 1, 2022 — It was a close call, but after devastating Florida, parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, hurricane Ian spread heavy rain and wind all the way up the east coast to southern New England, but central New Hampshire proved to be out of its reach, and the Castle Car Show in Moultonborough went on as scheduled. The annual show was held in the lower fields just below Castle in the Clouds, a popular New Hampshire attraction. Skies were mostly cloudy but with light winds and moderate temperature.

There was a heavy turnout of both cars and spectators. There were cars to satisfy every automotive taste, including classics, '50s standards, customs and imports in a scenic setting. It's one of the shows I most look forward to each year. You can see my photographic coverage at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/castle2022/

"Murder for Two"

September 29, 2022 — There's been a murder. A detective arrives to investigate and begins questioning a houseful of suspects, all of whom have an alibi but all of whom also have motive and opportunity. Evidence seems to lead to one individual, only to prove false, then lead to another. Clues appear and disappear. Suspects tell conflicting stories. Red herrings abound. The culprit isn't identified until the final minutes. Are you thinking an Agatha Christie mystery? Not this time.

Murder for Two is a murder mystery set to music with comic antics which had its world premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2011 with lyrics by Kellen Blair and music by Joe Kinosian. The Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, New Hampshire has produced the play under the direction of Clayton Phillips. Judy Hayward is the music director, Matthew S. Crane the scenic designer and Christina Vargas the costume designer.

A cast of only two carry this spoof of traditional murder mysteries in about ninety minutes with intermission. Micah Weese is detective Marcus Moscowicz. Mark Schenfisch plays all the suspects, allegedly thirteen, although I couldn't count that many. The story is told mostly in song lyrics by the two actors who also play a grand piano, sometimes individually, sometimes together. Novelist Arthur Whitney is done in by a gunshot early in the first act. Detective Moscowicz begins his investigation of Schenfisch's odd-ball characters. Among them, besides the late Whitney, was Whitney's wife and a ballerina, a psychiatrist and three choirboys. There were no costume changes. Schenfisch skillfully portrays the different characters with subtle changes in voice and mannerisms. He gets down on his knees as the short choirboys, distinguishing them simply by changing the position of his baseball cap.

The performance of the two actors is a tour de force. The huge parlor of an isolated manor in rural New England is a masterpiece of design and construction. To me, the play seemed to get better as it progressed. The energy level never flags from beginning to end. It's a late-season triumph for the Winnipesaukee Playhouse.

Stratham Hill Car Show

September 25, 2022 — The full name of this show is the 29th Annual Stratham Hill Car and Bike Show. Boy Scout Troop 85 presents this show at Stratham Hill Park each year. It's one of the better New Hampshire shows, but attracts many of the same cars year after year, so to avoid a lot of repetition I've greatly reduced my coverage. Still, if you're not a regular visitor to my site, most of the photos may be of cars you haven's seen before. I've also included nine motorcycles, a few very rare and original. You may view this series, one of my shortest of the season, at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/stratham22/

Carriagetown Car Show 2022

September 24, 2022 — A variety of outstanding vehicles, a picturesque downtown as background, convenient parking and good dining all add up to make this one of my favorite shows of the season. On this particular day, bright sun and moderate temperature completed a perfect day. Amesbury, Massachusetts is the home of this annual show. Cartoonist Al Capp, creator of Li'l Abner, shmoos, Fearless Fosdick and Sadie Hawkins Day once called Amesbury home. You'll find some outstanding vehicles in this pleasant, hilly city at this link:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/carriagetown2022/

39th Rye Lions Car Show

September 18, 2022 — It was the 39th annual Rye Lions Club Car Show in Rye, New Hampshire, and my second show this weekend. It's been a summer of incredibly good luck with weekend weather. I can only remember one show all season that got rained out. However, extreme heat was also a feature of this season, hot enough to reduce participation in some shows. But temperature was moderate for this particular show.

Rye Lions is a long-time favorite. You'll see many of the same cars return year after year, but you can depend on it for a few surprises. This year's show featured some very rare vehicles, including a couple of  models I had never heard of. Competition Motors LLC of Portsmouth, NH brought two of their restored Bugattis from the '20s. There was also a 1958 AC and a 1935 Fiat Balilla. You can see these and many others at:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/rye22/