The 41st Annual Car Show, for everyone in the old car hobby Spring officially arrives on the first weekend of May with the Rhinebeck Car Show. Rhinebeck 2011 will be held at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds on May 6, 7 and 8. Gates will open at noon on the 6th for spectators to go through the vendor’s sites. This event is a sure cure for “cabin fever” and hobbyists from all over the Northeast have been celebrating spring for over forty years by converging at Rhinebeck to participate in this popular event. Rhinebeck is one of the biggest car shows in the Northeast and hundreds of cars and thousands of spectators will be filling the Fairgrounds for this spring celebration of automotive history.
Rhinebeck 2011 will be fun for the whole family. Mom and Dad will be reminded of that first date in one of these special vehicles or that first new car their family had. Many car collectors are fulfilling old dreams in the car that they really wanted but were out of reach when they were younger. The kids and grand kids will enjoy the cars too but should also enjoy the old toys displayed and for sale by vendors. In addition to all of the cars on display, the family can wander through the Swap Meet looking at automotive memorabilia. Plenty of food vendors will be offering an interesting variety of food choices and, as usual, Fosters Coach House will be open at the Fairgrounds for those who prefer to sit down to relax and enjoy their meal.
This year we will be featuring a display by the Saratoga Automobile Museum on our show field. They are planning to bring several cars and motor cycles for your viewing enjoyment following is a bit about the activities they plan this year:
The Saratoga Automobile Museum displays Autos from May to October, there are over 20 lawn shows that feature cars from Alfa and Auburn to Stutz and Volkswagen. In early May, the Saratoga Spring Invitational is a showcase for a select group of breathtaking automobiles from the Brass Era to Classics from the Golden Age of Motoring, to today’s most modern and exotic Supercars. On the same weekend is our traditional Spring Car Show, while later in the summer we are pleased to host Hemming’s Sports & Exotics Show.
When fall and winter come, the Museum is still active with lectures and technical sessions, our unique “Living Legends” interview sessions (this year featuring racers A.B. Shuman, Jack DeWitt and automotive journalist Ken Gross). Add in the young people’s exhibits at SAM’s Garage, our educational programs (last year’s building of a Model A Huckster and this year’s upcoming “Build a Hot Rod”), our onsite school-age programs (for elementary to college level students), the “…fun for kids of all ages…” racecar simulators, and it is apparent that the Saratoga Automobile Museum is your place to be for year round automotive entertainment.
Saturday’s show spotlights the creativity and ingenuity of the owners and builders of some of the finest hot rod, custom cars and sport compacts in the country. 800 Cars are expected to be on the show field for your enjoyment. These vehicles feature amazing paint schemes including fancy flames and cool graphics. They include incredible custom body designs with chopped tops and channeled bodies.
Monster motors built without caring that they get less than 10 miles per gallon- and fine custom interiors you’ll wish you could live in. The Atlantic Coast Old Time Racing Club will take a break from their racing competition to show off their antique racers at Rhinebeck. The Sport Compact cars have special sounds systems, low rider wheels, unique exhaust systems and special paint schemes. The guys who customize these cars are very creative and develop truly unique and fun vehicles. Sunday’s show focus is on restored antique and classic cars.
Over 1100 old cars from all automotive eras up to 1986 are expected. These vehicles are some of the finest restorations to be found anywhere. Owners and restorers pride themselves restoring their vehicles to “showroom” condition. Actually, many of these vehicles are restored too much better condition than when they left the showroom.
Sunday’s show will include early antique vehicles, cars from the roaring twenties, thirties classics, fabulous forties cars, and plenty of vehicles from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Many of the cars on display disappeared from showrooms years ago. Antique trucks, motorcycles, plenty of sports cars, and other foreign cars will be there too. Many
of last year’s award winning vehicles will be on display in the “Winners’ Circle” on both Saturday and Sunday.
Anyone looking for a way to get started in this great hobby will find plenty of opportunity in the Rhinebeck Car Corral. A wide variety of over 500 collectable cars will be for sale there.
In the Swap Meet area, about a thousand vendors will be selling plenty of auto hobby related material. There will be lots and lots of old car parts, tools, restoration supplies, and automotive literature. Many of the vendors will be selling both old and new toys.
The Dutchess County Fairgrounds is located on Route 9, just north of the village of Rhinebeck. The gates open at 6:00 AM on Saturday and at 8:00 on Sunday. Admissions are $10.00 but children 12 and under are admitted free. For additional information, call 845-876-3554 from 7 to 9 PM.. This year we also have early birds day Friday with gates open at 12:00. Weekend passes are available at the gate to those who plan on attending more than one day at $17.
Rhinebeck 2011 is sponsored by the Hudson River Valley Antique Automobile Association Inc. which is an association of six local car clubs whose members volunteer hundreds of hours each year to organize and run this event.
The Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center is presenting a temporary exhibit entitled “Canals during the Civil War” in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. This small exhibit opens May 4th and runs through October 29. The exhibit includes photos and maps of the Erie Canal, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Grant’s Canal near Vicksburg. The exhibit can be viewed during regular Visitor Center hours.
