In a few short days, the streets of downtown Concord will be filled with cars of every shape, size, make, model and age as people from across New England flock to New Hampshire’s capital city for the season opener of Cars & Coffee on Capitol.
Hosted by Revelstoke Coffee, this event series takes place on the second Sunday of every month from April through November. With an “if you’re proud of it, we want to see it” attitude, the gathering encourages people of all ages who are passionate about vehicles. Attending the event is free and requires no registration.
“It’s hard to explain how fun and lively it is until you go stand in the middle of it,” said Alex Stoyle, owner of Revelstoke and organizer of Cars & Coffee on Capitol. “The cool thing about it: everyone is welcome, and it’s totally free. Even if you have never driven a car, or you don’t really appreciate cars, I think you would be able to find something that at least peaks your interest. There’s so much energy, we get everything from supercars and hypercars to tuners and custom-built hot-rods and everything in between.”
Cars & Coffee began in July 2023 and has grown beyond what Stoyle initially ever thought possible. This year, the events will feature a vendor marketplace, Teenie Weenie’s food truck, music and more.
“If someone’s going to die, why not me?” he asked. “We would want to live in a city where there were cool people and opportunities for families and friends to get out to do fun stuff. And so we decided it was time to plan something like this.”
The Sunday gatherings typically attract around 150 cars and upwards of 500 attendees. Cars & Coffee is more than just a car show. The Main Event, an automotive show and celebration, will happen on either the second or third Sunday of the season. Last year saw over 1,000 cars and 5,000 visitors. This fall, The Main Event will take place during the first-ever Concord Rally weekend in September, a full weekend’s worth of car show events and festivities.
“Our main goal is to get people to stay in the hotels, eat at the restaurants, and then go explore the state, because just from Concord as a home base, there’s so many great drives to be had, whether you’re an hour to the seacoast, an hour to White Mountains or you head out to the Green Mountains of Vermont,” Stoyle said. “We just have so much to offer here, and I think getting to showcase that, and trying to get people up here to appreciate it is really important to us and really fun stuff.”
Stoyle looks forward to seeing how Cars & Coffee will continue to grow.
“It’s been quite the thrill and really cool to see how the people of Concord have already just embraced this event. Frankly, I think it’s just the beginning. I think we have a lot of things we’re going to do to make the event cooler, bigger and better throughout the years,” he added.
Cars & Coffee on Capitol happens in downtown Concord on the second Sunday of each month from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Concord Auto Rally will be held the weekend of September 13 to 14.
For more information, visit capitolnh.com.
Rachel Wachman can be reached at rwachman@cmonitor.com
