Thousands turn up for Atlantic Nationals car show in Moncton

The Atlantic Nationals have returned in full force.

It’s Atlantic Canada’s biggest car show and hosts people from all over Canada and the U.S. More than 2,400 car were registered for the weekend.

“It’s been a good show. We’ve got a lot of excitement. A lot of really nice new cars, different cars. This year we split the show in two. We did an older car section and a newer car section, which helps promote the hobby to all classes,” said Atlantic Nationals chair Bill Doherty.

Thousands were in attendance through Sunday taking in the classic hotrods, vintage cars and new high-speed cars.

For the past two years, the show was scaled down, including a three-day abbreviated version of the show in 2021 due to COVID-19. The pandemic allowed for some interesting changes Doherty said.

“We’ve gone to an online registration format, we have point of sale terminals at the entrance to avoid people exchanging cash and cut down on the number of places people are congregating,” he said.

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The traditional dance took place outside, according to Doherty. More than that, the two years have allowed people to work on their car projects or even buy new ones ahead of this year’s show.

“There were a lot of cars that were purchased during the COVID shutdown and there were also a lot of cars that were built,” Doherty said.

The large crowds and influx of carefully crafted cars with custom features and engines are something that Radical Speed Sport car show owner Joe Savoie said have been happening at many shows this year – that show was held in April.

“It’s the same thing here,” he said. “”The crowds are great. The cars are great. There is a lot of new stuff and we’re seeing that at a lot of shows. People have just been itching to get back out and have spent the last two years, three years, working on their new stuff and it’s been great.”

He said while people are eager to get back, challenges remain, including make sure celebrity guests make it to the shows – with airlines being heavily impacted by the increase demand in travel.

However, Doherty said while there are still kinks to work out, it’s great to be back.

“The Atlantic Nationals, we’re all car enthusiasts, but myself and our team have realized that the show has transcended just a car show, it’s a major economic driver for the city of Moncton, for the region, around Moncton, and indeed the entire Atlantic provinces.”