East Coast Lumber Car Show

July 9, 2025 — This show, sponsored by East Coast Lumber Building Supply Company in East Hampstead, New Hampshire was held at the Atkinson Resort & Country Club in Atkinson. For a show held on a mid-week afternoon, attendance was impressive. There was a good turnout and variety of show cars, and the day was warm with a fairly solid but still bright cloud cover. Cloudless skies have been hard to find so far this season.

Take a look. There are just over fifty photos. Won't take up much of your time and there are some interesting cars:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/eastcoast/

"Something Rotten!"

July 2, 2025 — In its 95th season, The Barnstormers Theatre in Tamworth, New Hampshire chose for its first presentation of 2025, Something Rotten! by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick. This production was directed for The Barnstormers by Jordan Ahnquist who is also assuming his new duties as artistic director.

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.

 

 

Newport Wings and Wheels

June 29, 2025 — I hadn't been to the Wings and Wheels show at Parlin Airport in Newport, NH in a few years and was surprised at how much it had grown. I would estimate there were about four times as many cars on display as the last time I was there. They've moved the exhibit to a runway which has much more space than the relatively small area reserved in the past.

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:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/newportnh25/ 

Make-a-Wish NH

June 21, 2025 — On the first Saturday without rain since March 15, I picked what may have been the smallest car show I've ever seen. With the ungainly name of  CJR & KPC Charity Show for Make-a-Wish NH, it featured cars beautifully restored by CJR Logistics LLC.which hosted the show along with Keyser Pond Campground.

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/ 

 

Boston McLaren/Unique Car Care

June 8, 2025 — Still searching for shows with something different to offer this season, I discovered another at East Coast Flightcraft of Massachusetts in Middleton. Cars were provided by Boston McLaren and luxury car detailer Unique Car Care. Other cars were entered by independent owners. Flightcraft showcased their luxurious, high-performance boats.

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/

 

Tractor Pull & Car Show

June 1, 2025 — A little different than my usual offerings, but a fun show where contestants attempt to manually tow a fire truck, one a 1938 International weighing 9,200 pounds, the other a late model monster, currently on active duty on the Manchester, New Hampshire Fire Department, weighing over 12 tons. The show was held at Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

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:

https://www.linwoodstreet.com/firetruckpull/ 

Londonderry Memorial Day Car Show

May 25, 2025 — A relatively small show dominated by Pontiacs. The show is hosted by Nor-Eastern Chapter, Pontiac-Oakland Club International. This show is held in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Many of the same cars return year after year but I always find something I haven't seen before, or at least can present in a different way photographically.

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:

 https://www.linwoodstreet.com/londonderry2025/