A Report on the Rexton Car Show by Curry A

Dwight Ball, Sherry and I left the Ramada Inn on Friday morning on route to Rexton. Our extra small cavalcade made our way down the 102 to Salisbury–we had the highway to ourselves until we reached the Trans Canada. The Lobster Deck in Shediac served up crab cakes which did not disappoint us. Our next stop was a visit at the Irving Eco-Centre Dunes Project in Bouctouche. After a leisurely 2 hour visit and walk on the board walk, we were ready to continue on to Rexton. The complete drive to Rexton was under a warm to hot bright sky which made for a great top-down experience.

We arrived in Rexton in time to go directly to the show reception at the Bonar Law Historic home site. The village built a small community museum at this site which houses artifacts from all aspects of village life. Acadian music was being performed at the band stand in the adjacent field overlooking the Richibucto River. The Premier was just leaving as we arrived, the mayor and other dignitaries remained to host the evening. A fine collection of local wine was being served and cheese and fruit available to accompany the wine.

Early Saturday morning the sky opened up much to the dismay of the organizers. The participants did not get too concerned about the rain and the show was moved to the curling club and carried on without missing a beat. The show consisted of 35 cars with some very unique autos included. A 1962(??) Jag XK won the peoples choice and a 195?? Sunbeam Talbot Alpina winning the participants choice. A 1921 Vauxall sedan won the mayors choice and carried the mayors of Rexton, Richibucto and St. Louis de Kent in the Sunday parade. The banquet was held at the curling club and after speeches, prizes were awarded for the categories noted above. A special note is warranted concerning the prizes. They were designed and hand made by Michelle Richard (one of the charming organizers) and covered a local theme for the area including the Acadian flag, ship building and rum running (c/w a 40 oz of Bacardi's finest).

Breakfast was served by the local Lion's Club.Sunday's parade went from the Lion's Club through Richibucto and on to a camp ground in St. Louis de Kent. The villagers were waiting for the parade to pass and there was a lot of enthusiasm from all the spectators along the way. Coffee and doughnuts were served at the site. A very talented duo played guitars and sang to entertain the group while campers viewed the cars and took pictures.

Another special note, banners painted by the locals adorned the power poles in the three villages. The banners focused on three themes including native culture, coastal geography, and fishing (I hope I have this correct) with participants ranging in years from 7 to over 90. The banners were spectacular!

Dwight and I made our way shortly after, north to Miramichi en route to Fredericton, completing the loop around this part of NB.

The show was small but very successful for the Village of Rexton's first attempt. Being small has it's rewards as well, as this group became a very close group allowing an opportunity to get to know each other better. This turned out to be an excellent weekend and event thanks to the hard work of the village of Rexton.

Well done folks.

- Curry