It was like the good old days in Moncton on Saturday.
Centennial Park was transformed from a playground into a hot spot of nostalgia for thousands of car lovers at the Atlantic Nationals Automotive extravaganza.
Jerry MacDonnell made the trip from Enfield, N.S., to see the close to 2,400 vintage vehicles on display.
"The appeal is to get to see the cars from back in the days when I was a child. They're amazing, amazing cars," said MacDonnell.
Harvey MacEachern came from Truro, N.S.
"I bought an old truck last year. I had been looking for a truck for a long time. I was here two or three years ago before the pandemic hit. This is like being a kid in a candy store," said MacEachern.
Rob Clow from Baddeck, P.E.I., brought his 1954 right-hand drive Volkswagen to the show.
"The appeal for me, I wanted something different. I love the rusty stuff. This came from Europe, that [Volkswagen] bus over there, it's a 1960. It came out of Winnipeg. We went up there and dug it out of the ground and spent thousands on it. It's a love, it's a passion," said Clow.
COVID-19 cancelled the show in the park two years ago and last summer it was a scaled-down event.
Atlantic Nationals chair Bill Doherty said it's now back to where it was pre-pandemic. A five-day show with multiple events and gatherings.
"We've done something every year, even in 2020. We did a bi-weekly cruise event because we couldn't have a gathering like this," said Doherty. "Last year we did the mini show and it went beyond all expectations and this year we're just blown away."
However, Doherty is very aware some spectators still have COVID-19 concerns.
"What we've done with the show is we're doing online registration. We've got point-of-sale tap machines for the spectators coming in. We have more washrooms, more wash stations in the washrooms,” he said.
“We have our little slogan signs that we made up from last year that we re-posted this year which are 'Close-up, mask-up, maintain social distancing.' We want everyone to feel comfortable.”
MacDonnell said he wasn't worried about COVID-19 while walking around the park.
"It's wide open and if you need the space I believe you can stay safe. There's lots of room," said MacDonnell.
MacEachern had a similar opinion.
"It's open-air which made a big difference for me coming up this morning. It's outside. I've had three or four shots of vaccinations and I'm kind of ready to move on and get on with my life," said MacEachern.
The cars will be back in the park Sunday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. for the last day of the Atlantic Nationals.
