BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//The CT Beacon - ECPv6.17.4.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://thectbeacon.com
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The CT Beacon
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20270314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20271107T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T153000
DTSTAMP:20260911T235710Z
CREATED:20260911T235710Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T235710Z
UID:10007548-1789819200-1789831800@thectbeacon.com
SUMMARY:1st Annual Misquamicut End of Summer Car Show
DESCRIPTION:1st Annual Misquamicut End of Summer Car Show brings classic and specialty vehicles to the Misquamicut Drive-In Theatre on Saturday\, September 19\, for a free afternoon of cars\, live music and end-of-season fun near the beach. \nThe inaugural show runs from noon to 3:30 p.m. and is presented by the Misquamicut Business Association. Admission is free for spectators\, with classic and specialty cars providing the main attraction and a $100 cash prize waiting for one Best in Show winner. \nLive music comes from Never Enuff\, adding a local rock soundtrack to an afternoon designed to give Misquamicut one more big gathering before summer officially gives way to fall. \nA New September Tradition Starts in Misquamicut\nThe “1st Annual” on the poster matters. \nThis isn’t the latest edition of an established Westerly car show being given a new name. The Misquamicut Business Association is launching a new event built specifically around the end of the beach season. \nThat’s familiar territory for the organization. \nThe MBA has spent years stretching Misquamicut’s calendar beyond the traditional Memorial Day-to-Labor Day beach season with festivals\, drive-in movies and other events that give visitors reasons to return when the biggest summer crowds have disappeared. \nA car show fits surprisingly well into that strategy. \nSeptember still offers the possibility of beautiful beach weather\, but Atlantic Avenue is no longer dealing with the relentless traffic of peak summer weekends. \nAnd the venue was practically made for parking interesting cars where people can walk around them. \nThe Misquamicut Drive-In Becomes a Show Field\nThe car show will be held at the Misquamicut Drive-In Theatre\, the seasonal outdoor movie venue operated by the Misquamicut Business Association. \nThe drive-in is located at 316 Atlantic Avenue\, on the grounds of Wuskenau Town Beach. \nDuring movie nights\, vehicles line up facing the giant outdoor screen. \nSaturday afternoon\, the vehicles themselves become the entertainment. \nThe show is being promoted for classic and specialty cars\, which gives organizers considerably more flexibility than a show restricted to one make\, decade or automotive category. \nExpect the potential for restored American classics\, muscle cars\, sports cars\, customs and other unusual vehicles rather than rows of identical late-model automobiles. \nWhat Exactly Makes a Car a Classic?\nThat’s a question with more than one answer. \nThe term “classic car” is used casually for almost anything old and desirable\, but formal definitions vary. \nConnecticut\, Rhode Island\, insurers\, collectors and automotive organizations can all use different age requirements or terminology. \nCollectors may also make distinctions among antique\, vintage\, classic\, muscle\, exotic and specialty vehicles. \nFor a community car show\, those boundaries are generally less important. \nWhat matters is whether the vehicle gives people a reason to stop walking. \nSometimes that’s a meticulously restored car that looks exactly as it did when it left the showroom decades ago. \nSometimes it’s a custom build that looks nothing like the factory intended. \nAnd sometimes it’s the car someone remembers sitting in as a kid. \nThe Cars Can Turn Into Time Machines\nThat’s one reason small local car shows remain so popular. \nPeople don’t necessarily respond to an old car because they know its horsepower\, engine displacement or production numbers. \nThey remember it. \nA 1950s Chevrolet can evoke an entirely different America than a late-’60s muscle car. \nA 1970s land yacht with acres of hood and chrome can instantly recall an era when fuel economy wasn’t exactly leading the design meeting. \nCars from the 1980s and 1990s are now old enough to trigger the same nostalgia among younger collectors. \nThe definition of an “old car” keeps moving. \nSomeone who attended a classic-car show in 1986 probably wasn’t expecting to see a 1986 vehicle entered as a collectible. \nForty years later\, that same car can qualify for historic plates in many states. \nTime is rude that way. \nThere’s $100 Riding on Best in Show\nThe afternoon isn’t purely exhibition. \nOrganizers are offering a $100 cash prize for Best in Show. \nThe event announcement doesn’t break the competition into a long list of vehicle classes\, so the emphasis appears to be on choosing an overall standout rather than distributing trophies among dozens of narrowly defined categories. \nThat should make the field interesting. \nAn immaculate restoration can end up competing for attention with a custom build\, unusual survivor or specialty vehicle. \nThe poster also promises other giveaways during the afternoon. \nFor spectators\, however\, judging is unofficial and considerably easier. \nWalk around until you find the one you’d most like to drive home. \nThat’s your winner. \nNever Enuff Supplies the Live Soundtrack\nThe show isn’t relying entirely on engines for its soundtrack. \nNever Enuff will perform live during the afternoon. \nThe Rhode Island-based group has been a familiar presence at area bars\, festivals\, outdoor concerts and community events\, playing danceable rock and popular favorites designed for a crowd rather than a quiet listening room. \nThat makes the band a good match for the loose format of a car show. \nPeople can wander the rows\, stop to talk with vehicle owners\, grab something nearby and listen to the music without needing to organize the afternoon around a formal concert schedule. \nThe cars remain the headliners. \nThe band keeps the field alive. \nMisquamicut and Cars Have Always Gone Together\nThere’s also a historical logic to holding a car show here. \nMisquamicut became the kind of beach destination generations of southern New England families could reach by automobile. \nAtlantic Avenue’s motels\, restaurants\, amusement businesses and beach parking developed in a world increasingly shaped by the family car. \nUnlike an older resort community built primarily around a railroad station or grand hotel\, much of modern Misquamicut is linear. \nYou drive Atlantic Avenue. \nYou choose a beach. \nYou park. \nYou walk to the water. \nThe area’s surviving roadside character is part of its identity. \nPutting classic automobiles along Atlantic Avenue taps directly into that history. \nThe Drive-In Is Part of That Same Car Culture\nEven the venue depends on the automobile. \nDrive-in theaters emerged as one of the quintessential forms of mid-20th-century American entertainment. \nFamilies could watch a movie without leaving their cars. Parents didn’t have to worry as much about restless children. Teenagers discovered certain other advantages that drive-in theater advertisements tended not to emphasize. \nThousands of drive-ins eventually operated around the United States. \nMost disappeared as land values increased and entertainment habits changed. \nMisquamicut’s drive-in is a modern revival rather than a continuously operating relic from the drive-in boom\, but it recreates the same basic experience: arrive by car\, park facing a screen and tune in for the movie. \nOn September 19\, the Misquamicut Business Association flips that formula around. \nInstead of driving to the theater to watch the show\, people bring cars that are the show. \nA Last Saturday of Summer at the Beach\nThe timing is almost perfect. \nThe astronomical end of summer arrives only a few days later. \nBy September 19\, the busiest portion of Misquamicut’s season is finished\, but there’s still every reason to hope for an afternoon warm enough to enjoy Atlantic Avenue and the beach. \nThat’s exactly the period the event’s name captures. \nNot quite summer. \nNot quite fall. \nOne more Saturday at Misquamicut. \nBring out the classics\, turn up the music and see which car leaves with $100. \nIf the first edition works\, the “1st Annual” on this year’s poster becomes a promise. \nDetails\nEvent: 1st Annual Misquamicut End of Summer Car Show\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: Noon–3:30 p.m.\nVenue: Misquamicut Drive-In Theatre\nAddress: 316 Atlantic Avenue\, Westerly\, RI 02891\nPresented By: Misquamicut Business Association\nAdmission: Free\nVehicles: Classic and specialty cars\nBest in Show: $100 cash prize\nGiveaways: Additional giveaways are planned\nLive Music: Never Enuff\nSetting: Outdoor event near Misquamicut Beach\nWeather: Outdoor programming is weather-dependent\nSponsors: Coastal Graphics\, Vito Ventures and Final Touch Auto Detailing\nSpectators: Free and open to the public \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/1st-annual-misquamicut-end-of-summer-car-show/
LOCATION:Misquamicut Drive-In\, 316 Atlantic Avenue\, Westerly\, RI\, 02891\, United States
CATEGORIES:Misquamicut Drive-In
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://thectbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/1st-Annual-Misquamicut-End-of-Summer-Car-Show.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR