Get Your Motor Running Car Show A Success Despite Wet Weather
This past weekend, the Dutchess County Fairgrounds played host to the Rhinebeck Car and Auto Show.
Although attendance was down a bit from previous years, Vicki Imperati, spokeswoman for fairgrounds, said the event is always a successful one no matter how many people come out.
“Totals for attendance were down on both days, which was most likely due to a poor forecast for the entire weekend and then the rain on Saturday,” said Imperati. “We ended up having a beautiful day on Sunday, but with a bad forecast for both days, it may have been hard for some people to commit to taking the trip with the good chance of heavy rain both days.”
Imperati said that despite the rain on Saturday, all of the feedback she received from people who braved the weather was very positive.
“People come for the show, to see cars, pick up and trade parts, but for most of them, I think they just look forward to coming back each year to see the same familiar faces, almost like a reunion,” said Imperati.
Peter DuValoois of Saugerties was at this year’s show with his 1946 Chevrolet, and said he was having a great time.
“I have a couple of cars and have been coming for the past few years,” said DuValoois. “Last year I came with my 1933 Ford Coupe, and it’s a lot of fun because everybody usually gets a kick out of it. I built this 1946 Chevrolet from scratch and it was really a nice project.”
“It’s great to be able to put something together from scratch,” said DuValoois. “I just love cars and I love to ride the ones that I am able to re-build all of the time. I don’t quite understand the people who don’t drive the cars that they restore. If you don’t drive them, then why have them? You might as well just have a picture of it on the wall.”
In addition to all of the vehicles on display and the various parts being traded and purchased, the show also featured a large number of vendors, selling everything from miniature car models to antiques to some original auto art.
Artist Thom SanSoucie was one such vendor. He displayed some of his “very impressive” auto art, as one onlooker said as he walked by.
“I used to travel to about 40 auto shows per year, but now I am down to about 15 because of gas prices,” said SanSoucie. “I especially love coming to this particular show because these fairgrounds are simply exceptional.”
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