CONCORD, NH — All good things must come to an end, and it was bittersweet on Sunday as the Kiwanis Club of Concord held its final antique and classic car show.
The tradition started more than 40 years ago, when the club was a tad more vibrant than it is today. The event was always a popular capital region happening and the club's second-largest fundraiser. But in recent years, as more events like Coffee & Cars in Downtown Concord and other shows launched, interest waned.
Ken Georgevits, a longtime club member, also said club membership had been aging, and the show became an undertaking to sustain.
Another longtime member, Chris Pappas, said that, at 39 years, though, not including the two years of planning before the event was created, it had been a good run.
On Sunday, about 150 cars and their owners attended the show, down a bit from prior years when 200 to 250 regularly attended. Georgevits said, like Kiwanis membership, most supporters of the classic car show were in their late 30s to early 70s.
Georgevits said the Kiwanis Fair remained the club's largest fundraiser. He added Kiwanis was also financially stable and that the car show decision was not about money.
The mission, as well, as it has been for more than 100 years in Concord, remains: A non-partisan, non-denominational group of men and women providing service to build better communities with a focus on young children, priority one.
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