Originally scheduled for June 15 bad weather forced us to make use of our “rain day” on Sunday the 16th. Fortunately the weather was greatly improved by then and over 1100 people came to the show. We split the entrance fee income with the Family Resource Centre who took care of seeing people through the gate, where there was also a donation bin for the Red Cross which received generous contributions.
There were lots of beautiful and interesting cars on show as well as a couple of bikes, a few big rig tractors, and some fire trucks. The police also showed up, but only to show off their SUV 🙂
Tickets were drawn for 19 bags (in lieu of buckets) of assorted stuff and for a 50/50 split. $50 prizes were handed out for various vehicles, and several trophies were awarded.
This being a family show, there were prizes (actual buckets!) for the kids, the Lion’s Club wagon train, Shriners balloon bending, face painting, and (of course) food.
Last, but by no means least, we want to thank all our very generous sponsors and volunteers. These events take considerable time, energy, and money to make them happen. We hope to see everyone again next year!
Today we helped celebrate the 35th year of Dairy Queen in Bridgewater – home of the Coastal Cruisers. DQ had activities for families and kids all afternoon, and CC members starting to roll in for a small parking lot show around 4pm. Many of the usual suspects were present along with a few classic British sports cars that we don’t see very often, and a magnificent Jaguar belonging to one of our newer members. Thank you to all who participated. Always something special to take in at our events!
Every year about this time the Coastal Cruisers volunteer to clean up a section of highway near Crescent Beach. After all, without highways there would be no cruising, and they are so much more pleasant to cruise when they are litter-free. With enough hands the job only takes a couple of hours, and we get a “thank you” note from the highways department for our efforts.
Girding for actionTrash pickup …… and deliveryOur fearless posse with their spoils
Thanks to those eight generous members who volunteered their time to help keep our public spaces clean and presentable!
Note: all the pictures are from the 2023 cleanup, but if you’ve seen one….
Our annual picnic feeding frenzy took place on September 9 at Grave’s Island. The club provided sodas, water, and cold cuts, and the members added all manner of salads, cookies, cakes and other embellishments. Thank you to all those who helped to organize this event, and to all those who helped feed the ravening hordes! No one went away hungry.
August 22 proved to be a beautiful, if rather warm, evening for a visit to the Ryan Hall Retirement Home in Bridgewater. About 20 cars left DQ at 6pm and, as far as we can tell, all of them made it! A few stragglers added to our numbers in the next half-hour or so.
After a drive-by procession past the main entrance, the residents looked over the cars and picked their favourites – so many great rides to choose from! Some excellent snacks and a much-appreciated tub of ice-cold sodas were laid on for the benefit of all present.
Every year (covid notwithstanding) around midsummer’s day Citroën Rendezvous, the largest gathering of Citroën vehicles in the north-east US, takes place in Saratoga Springs, New York. Citroën (now part of the Stellantis group, along with Fiat, Opel, Maserati, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, and a few others) has had no official dealer network in Canada since the mid-1970s when U.S. design regulations outlawed core features of Citroën cars, so almost every one of the 120 or so cars at the show is at least 40 years old. A few date back to the mid-1930s.
The Traction Avant, as the name implies, was the first mass-produced front-wheel drive car in the world, first manufactured in 1934.
Traction Avant
It was in the 1954 model that the famous hydro-pneumatic self-levelling suspension was introduced, a feature common to almost all of Citroën’s higher-end models until quite recently. At the lower end of the spectrum, the Deux Chevaux was produced from 1948 – 1990. One of its stated design criteria was that it should be able to cross a ploughed field without breaking any eggs in a basket on the rear seat. This was the French answer to the Volkswagen.
2CV Truckette
Ironically, the 2-cylinder air cooled engine was made by BMW and the first model delivered only 9hp. Over 9 million 2CVs were produced during their long production run.
In 1955 Citroën introduced the iconic DS model. It placed third in the 1999 Car of the Century competition.
The SM was Citroën’s attempt to break into the high-end luxury sporty end of the market. It adopted all the technical innovations of the DS and combined them with a 2.7 litre 6-cylinder Maserati engine and a 5-speed manual transmission. With a 90 litre fuel tank, the car was designed to travel from Paris to Marseilles (about 800Km) at 200Km/hour without stopping.
The experiment ended with Citroën’s bankruptcy and subsequent acquisition by Peugeot in 1974. Things were never quite the same after that!
One car at this year’s show deserves special mention. It doesn’t look like much
but the history of this early DS is amazing. In 2008 it was rescued from a field in Montana. When the DS was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 1955, over 12,000 sales orders were taken in the first day. The serial number of the pictured vehicle is 10950, which probably means it was one of those cars. The proud owner gives a brief show-and-tell about his adventure in this YT video.
There were a few interesting non-Citroëns present too, but they are hardly worth mentioning 😉.
The June 17th weather was gloomy and chilly, but the people were not! We had a good sized crowd of both people and cars at The Big EX in Bridgewater. A steady stream of hungry humans kept the food vendors hopping, and our 50/50 and bucket (bag) draw tickets sold well. Thanks to our sponsors we had 21 bags of Stuff to hand out, twenty $50 cash prizes, a one-night stay at the Best Western and an O’Reagans Supreme Detailing kit to award. The youngsters in the crowd could take a ride on the Lion’s Wagon Train, and a few of the lucky ones also claimed prize buckets. Everyone gave every appearance of having a good time, and we wrapped up the show before the rain started.
The Inside StoryThe Outside StoryBags of BagsBig RigsSmaller RigsBruhm-BrrrrrooomHealth FoodTurkey FoodPotential FoodShinyNot So ShinyAnything with WheelsBuckets for KidsWinning Bags of Stuff50% Winner
Again this year Mastodon Ridge in Stewiacke is hosting our annual Flaunt & Flash Car/Truck Show on June 11. Our show continues to grow! Last year we had approximately 150 vehicles. This spring we expanded our parking lot and are ready for more! Our park, Mastodon Mini Golf and Red Wagon Local Shop will be open. Also a reminder that Tim’s, KFC and Coldstream Distillery are also onsite.Â
Mastodon Ridge • Hwy 102 • Exit 11 • 87 Main Street West • Stewiacke • Nova Scotia • Tel 902-639-2345 • Email: VisitorInfoCentre@MastodonRidge.ca
October 1st was a beautiful day for a trip down to Mill Village. There was a good crowd of Coastal Cruisers there, and several cars showed up from the valley. Sadly the restaurant was closed, but the General Store provided everything one could need – and free coffee to those bringing classic cars.
September 10 proved to be a beautiful day for a cruise to Bayswater Beach via Chester. Aboujt 22 people turned up. The convoy left Oakhill Firehall at 10am, paused for refreshments at Tim Horton’s in Chester, and landed at Bayswater Beach around noon. As usual, with our crowd, the picnic was as much of a draw as the cruise! Pot luck contributions were plentiful and varied, and a walk on the beach helped to dispose of a few calories. Everyone enjoyed the day out.
The 55th Canadian Coasters Tour is now underway. 53 cars set off from St. John’s Newfoundland on June 27th on their way to Duncan, B.C. En route they will be staying overnight at several places in Nova Scotia where you can catch up with them later in the day.
Date(s)
Town
Campground
July 7&8
Little Bras d’Or
Arm of Gold CG
July 9
Frankville
Hyclass Ocean CG
July 10
Sherbrooke
River’s Edge CG
July 11
Dartmouth
Shubie CG
July 12
Lunenburg
Lunenburg CG
July 13
Grand Pre
Land of Evangeline
July 14
Hilden
Scotia Pines CG
Coasters Nova Scotia Schedule 2022
Then it’s off to New Brunswick and parts westward. We wish them bon voyage on their 68-day trip from coast to coast!
It was a Great day! The weather was cool but bright, and the turnout excellent. Many classic cars to drool over, and a monster lawnmower to boggle at! Make a Wish Foundation raised over $1200, and an enthusiastic crowd contributed to and benefited from the bucket draw. Once again, our sincere thanks to all our sponsors and to all our willing volunteers who planned and executed a picture-perfect event. None of this would have happened without all your help!
Our rain-or-shine spring cruise is scheduled for Sunday May 22. Starting in Bridgewater at 9am, our route will take in The Hollow Log Cafe in Caledonia, a stop in Bear Lake, and some sight-seeing in Annapolis before we land at The Station restaurant in Bridgetown for lunch.
Heading homeward, we will travel via Middleton with an optional stop at The Turkey Burger for ice cream.
Sounds delicious! Let us know if you’re planning to join us.
We are raffling this “basket” of goodies, worth over $400, for $2/ticket or $5/3 tickets. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Dairy Queen in Bridgewater on the evening of December 17th.Contact us or drop in at DQ any Tuesday evening if you’d like to get in on the action.
Update: The draw was held at the Bridgewater DQ on December 17th and a winner was announced. DQ very kiindly provided an ice cream cake for the CC members and those taking part in the draw. Thanks to all who bought tickets and helped to support our club activities!
A beautiful late summer day greeted us for our trip to the Acadian Village in West Pubnico. It is a longish (2 hour) drive from Bridgewater, but well worth the effort for the dozen or so cars that joined in. Normally the Village is closed on Saturdays but they made an exception in our case and even had their cafe make up some excellent sandwiches and cookies for lunch eaten outside at their picnic tables. Most of us took the opportunity to explore the grounds, although sadly there were no guides or docents available to let us into the buildings.
A few local vintage vehicles joined us for the afternoon and a number of visitors came to admire the classic autos on display. There is talk of another visit next year.
It seemed like everyone and their dog showed up for a small but enthusiastic meet and show-off at Brindle Boston today. There were lots of really classic cars to ooh and aah over, and the barbecue was left in the capable hands of the Blockhouse Volunteer Fire Department who did a fine job of controlling the fire. Temperature and humidity were comfortably seasonal and there didn’t seem to be a lot of bugs.
Unexpectedly this fine little Fiat showed up and stole many hearts, but there were a lot more well-loved vehicles on show too.
