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If you love classic cars, mark June 26 on your calendar. That’s the date of the 14th annual Elm Bank Estate Auto Show, which has moved to a more spacious (and accessible) location ten miles south of its long-time Wellesley roots. It’s the same great collection of muscle cars, hot rods, Model Ts, Corvettes, and everything else that car lovers admire – without the hour-long wait to cross a one-lane bridge.
Now called ‘Medfield on the Charles’, the show has blossomed into one of the largest and most colorful automotive events in New England. To be staged on the grounds of the former Medfield State Hospital, there will now be room for 1200 entries and parking for 1500 spectators.
There’s also an impressive view of the Charles River and its floodplain from a bluff that is part of the show site.
“As much as everyone enjoyed being amid the gardens at Elm Bank, the show’s popularity made the site impractical,” said Charlie Harris, the man who has staged the show since its inception in 2003. “We scoured the region for a site that was both picturesque and accessible.
Medfield offered the perfect choice, and the town has gone out of its way to accommodate us.”
What’s a car show? It’s a day when a thousand or more owners bring their prized vehicles – autos from a time when cars were much more than a means of getting from Point ‘A’ to Point ‘B’. It’s a collection of autos that bring smiles to the faces of everyone who sees them: an immaculately restored 1965 Mustang, a 1938 Triumph Dolomite complete with a wicker picnic basket strapped to its boot, or a showroom-fresh 1959 Dodge convertible with foot-high tail fins and tilt-out seats.
This year’s show also focuses on vintage trucks. “Autos have always been of great interest to designers,” Harris said, “and each major manufacturer changed the look of their cars to appeal to changing audiences. Less well appreciated is that there was a time when trucks and tractors received major redesigns every few years.”
The car show is an opportunity to introduce a new generation to the joys of peering under the hood and into the interior of timeless classics. And, the best part is that each of those cars is paired with an owner who will be delighted to explain why GTOs were the best muscle cars and the LaSalle was the finest production car ever made in America.
Open from 9 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., the event includes live music (oldies, naturally) and lots of food. There’s an area where classic cars currently for sale are in ‘corral’ so that prospective buyers can see if the car of their dreams is within their reach.
Admission is $7, children under 12 are free.
If you’re looking for additional information or are an owner of a classic car that you’d like to display, contact show manager Charlie Harris at (781-400-0744) or email him at [email protected].
