AMHERST, N.S. — It’s a tradition that has come to mark the start of summer in Amherst.
And for car lovers, especially those of the classic and antique variety, it’s the beginning of the car show circuit that sees owners show off their vehicles across the region.
The Cumberland Car Club is set to host its 28th annual car show on Sunday at the Robb Centennial Complex in Amherst.
“We normally get more than 150 vehicles, we used to get as many as 300 but when we started there weren’t as many car shows. Now there are so many,” club treasurer Deane Allen said. “Our show is popular because of our location but also because of the variety of vehicles we get and the age.”
Billed as the Maritimes’ biggest showing of pre-40s original vehicles, the cars show runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be pre-war car games, music by a DJ and mystery draws throughout the day as well as the presentation of several best in show awards, including the John H. Copp Memorial Award that was presented for the first time in 2018 for the best Mustang at the show and shine, the Al Lucci Memorial Award, the President’s Award and the Mayor’s Choice Award.
“People who have these cars like to go to these shows to show what they’ve done to their cars. They pull out their lawn chairs and socialize,” Allen said. “They really like talking about their cars and why theirs is the best. We all do it.”
Allen, who with his brother and uncle used to have 21 antique cars at a museum in Fort Lawrence, said he has always been interested in old cars. He remembers going to Charlottetown in 1966 to pick up a 1938 LaSalle. At that time, it wasn’t an antique – he had to wait two years.
Today, he has a 1970 Chev truck.
“I saw it advertised and I’d just sold my other truck, a ’57 Cameo that was a very rare model. It was a truck that looked like a car and they made it for three years. Then they made a car that looked like a truck and called in an El Camino,” Allen said. “I had that 14 years and I’ve had this one (the truck) for 16. I called the guy in New Minas, drove down and looked at it and bought it. I’ve paid as much to fix it up as I paid for it, but it was worth it.”
The car club, which also has members from Sackville, N.B., will also be holding Cruises at Car Quest on Thursday nights until September from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
For more information on the car show or the cruises, contact the club’s president Bill Crossman at 902-667-2676 or email [email protected].
