Officials estimate that 5,000 classic car owners and enthusiasts made their way to the heart of New Canaan Sunday for the first “Caffeine & Carburetors” of 2014—a grassroots event whose rapidly growing popularity has surprised even its architects.
“What’s remarkable is the growth, since the onset of the digital medium,” 95.9 FM The Fox’s Peter Bush—himself a Mercedes man whose family got into classic cars in 1953 when his dad got a 1929 Ford Model A—said from Pine Street during a break from manning a microphone as hundreds of auto lovers, families, children and dogs milled about in the all-pedestrian zone there and on Park and Elm Streets, many of them sipping java from Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee.
NewCanaanite.com stole Bush for a quick interview that you’ll see in the video above that we put together. One quick note on this: You’re listening to a song that Phil Williams and Jim O’Neil at New Canaan Music wrote specifically for Caffeine & Carburetors—lyrics can be found at the bottom of this page—and we included a clip of a band playing live music off of Elm, and also ran into some of our favorite locals for quick chats, have a look.
Heidi Burrows, owner of New Canaan Olive Oil, said she saw plenty of foot traffic and will “absolutely” open for future Sunday morning “Caffeine & Carburetors” events. Credit: Michael Dinan
This year, given the heights that Caffeine & Carburetors had reached at the end of the 2013 season, New Canaan’s own Doug Zumbach worked with police and municipal officials, as well as the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, to bring cars to Elm Street on this sunny, cool day.
Heidi Burrows, owner of New Canaan Olive Oil opposite The Playhouse (our movie theater), said she “absolutely” plans to open her doors for the Sunday morning event again.
“The streets were full of people and we opened our doors right at 9 o’clock and we have samples out to draw people in,” she said. “I think people really supported the stores that opened up.”
Here’s New Canaan High School graduate Harrison Pierce, now of Los Angeles, with three nieces at Caffeine & Carburetors on April 6, L-R: First Presbyterian pre-schooler Caeley Clough and her sisters, Hadley Clough and South School first-grader Ainsley Clough.” credit=”Michael Dinan
Bruce Kruikshank, 71 (“a youngster,” he said) is a Wilton resident who pulled into Pine in front of Zumbach’s at about 7:45 a.m. with his 1971 Jaguar XKE, “the last of the six cylinders.”
Asked about why so many passersby seemed to be stopping to look at and photograph the classic Jag, Kruikshank said: “People love old cars. People come here to see old cars and this car particularly, the way it was done over, they get a good representative of what it was like when they were new. It’s hard to fine today. That’s why restoration was such a neat hobby.”
The second installment of Caffeine and Carburetors 2014 is scheduled for May 4.
Here are the lyrics to Phil’s song:
Here are the lyrics to “Caffeine & Carburetors” from New Canaan Music—the soundtrack of our video, below.” credit=”Michael Dinan