Fancy cars are just the tip of the iceberg when the Atlantic Nationals roll into town

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

"This has become a North American destination event," says Show Chairman Bill Doherty. "Vehicles are coming from nine Canadian provinces, plus Georgia, Texas, and all the New England states."

1 of 2

If you're a car buff, or just somebody who wants a weekend of family fun with an automotive flavour, then plan to attend the Atlantic Nationals being held in Moncton July 10 to 13. There will be over 1,600 cars to admire, from street rods to restored antiques, muscle cars to classics, all licensed for the road and almost all getting here under their own power.

Vendors a-plenty will be on hand selling T-shirts, toy cars, and much, much more.

"The first day," explains Bill, "is for participants only, but on Friday, Main Street closes to traffic between Lutz and Botsford and the street becomes a festival. Over 800 cars will be parked on display in that area, plus vendor and sponsor booths.

"At 6 p.m. the street closure expands, the bands start playing, and the fun picks up. We usually get over 100,000 people on Main Street that day and evening."

It doesn't cost anything to take in the events downtown on Friday, and when the Nationals move to Centennial Park for the weekend, the cost is only $8 per person, $20 for a family of four, and free children under eleven who are accompanied by an adult.

It is when the Show moves to Centennial Park that the full complement of 1,600-plus cars will be on hand for viewing. This is also where this year's guest of honour, Chip Foose, will be mingling, signing autographs, and sharing some of his expertise.

Chip is the star of Overhaulin', he has won several Ridler Awards for his car-building, and is a car-builder hall-of-famer. His presence is a highlight of the show.

Another great spectator event takes place on Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. Bring out your lawn chairs and watch the Annual Atlantic Nationals Super Cruise wend its way along Vaughan Harvey Blvd., out Mountain Road to Wheeler, across to Coverdale Road and back to Vaughan Harvey on the new bridge. The Riverview bandstand will be home to Old Skool during the entire Cruise.

"There are so many things going on," says Bill. "There's a radio-controlled boat regatta, a model car show, information booths, a learn-to-weld session. We have great prizes being given away, too. Plus you can buy all sorts of things, like buffalo meat burgers, pizza, hats, toys, car polish, well, so many different things.

"And of course there's the Splash Park and play area for the kids."

Bill has been involved with Atlantic Nationals for 10 years, two of which were spent designing and organizing the first official show in 2001. From 2002-7, Atlantic Nationals raised the money to build the Splash Park in Centennial Park, and their next project is to build a state-of-the-art playground to replace the Park's existing one.

"We support a lot of charities, mostly related to kids," Bill explains, "and to me that's at least as important, if not more important than, the car show itself."

For more information about this event-filled weekend, go to atlanticnationals.com. You're sure to find something that interests you.