AMESBURY — With a new group behind the wheel, the Carriagetown Car Show is ready to roar back to life in September after unexpectedly running out of gas last fall.
The previous Carriagetown Car Show purred like a kitten for about a decade, with the late, former Amesbury Mayor Ken Gray originally coming up with the concept.
As part of the show, hundreds of cars from 1989 or earlier would fill the streets of downtown Amesbury, where visitors could admire them.
The show also raised money for local organizations like nonprofits, community programs and more.
However, this fall, the former car show committee decided to end the event citing overwhelmingly complicated logistics as a reason.
“Planning for the car show starts in April, and it’s very time consuming. There are an awful lot of different entities involved, police, fire, the DPW (Department of Public Works), the town. Fundraising takes an enormous amount of time and all the social media work that’s done to promote it. It was not an easy decision at all. But, it reached the point where we were a victim of our own success. It just got to the point where the different committee members just felt that we didn’t have the time and the efforts to make all this happen,” Tom Pendergast, a member of the former Carriagetown Car Show Committee, said this fall.
The end of the popular event was met with sadness from community members who attended year after year, but now a local group, the Rust Rods Car Club, is breathing new life into the show, which is scheduled for Sept. 19.
After discussions between the Rust Rods Car Club, Bruce McBrien, a member of the former Carriagetown Car Show Committee and Steve Belmonte, owner of Gametime Lanes, the idea came about bring back the car show back to the city, but in a different location, Munters Corporation, on South Hunt Road.
Webber said much about the show will be similar, with trophies on the table, and vehicles from 1989 or earlier being accepted, with the primary difference being the amount of space they have. Currently, the group has designated space for up to 500 cars, with the ability to add another 200 spots if need be.
“We have an almost unlimited supply of parking up there, there’s tons of space,” Webber said.
The show will be free to attend for spectators, and show cars can make a suggested minimum $20 charitable donation at the gate.
The proceeds will go to three local organizations, the Amesbury Carriage Museum, Our Neighbors’ Table and Greenstone Gives, Webber said.
Tracey Friedman, the new executive director of Our Neighbors’ Table, said it feels wonderful being supported by a local event like the Carriagetown Car Show.
“I think that’s amazing,” she said.
Though the new show was only announced on Thursday evening, Webber said the response from residents has been overwhelmingly positive so far.
“It’s been great, we just announced it last night on a bunch of Facebook pages for car clubs. My phone has been blowing up ever since I picked it up this morning, which is great,” he said on Friday.
While the show requires lots of planning and hard work, Webber said he is thrilled that his club can bring the beloved event back to Amesbury.
“It’s a huge undertaking, but it’s well worth it,” he said.