The Parks and Recreation Commission last week voted unanimously in favor of an Oct. 19 date for the Caffeine & Carburetors 2025 Waveny Park car show.
Oct. 20, 2024 Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny. Photo courtesy of Matt Konspore
While the popular car show will function similarly to past years, the 2025 show will take additional steps to alleviate congestion by expanding visitor parking to the downtown commuter lot and Talmadge Hill, in addition to requiring visitors to register for parking in advance, according to Claire Drexler, director of business development at C&C and Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee on Pine Street, where the event was born.
Buses will be provided for visitors parking outside of Waveny, she told Parks & Rec during its regular meeting, held March 12 at Lapham Center and via videoconference.
Scenes from the June 17, 2018 Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny Park. Credit: Michael Dinan
“You must register to come to this event,” Drexler said during her presentation. “It’s grown to the size where we need people to know where they’re going in advance.”
To help manage traffic flow, unregistered vehicles arriving at Waveny on Oct. 19 will be redirected out of the park. Parking enforcement will be overseen by a group of volunteers, with the help of police.
“We’ve been working very closely with the local police force to develop a very clear traffic plan to prevent any congestion and safety issues that arose with the event last year,” Drexler said. “It will have a different feeling to it, however, we expect it to all enhance the quality of the event.”
Scenes from the June 17, 2018 Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny Park. Credit: Michael Dinan
The decision to place additional restrictions on parking follows a large 2024 show, which saw record numbers of attendees due to the event’s cancellation the previous year.
“There are factors that are sort of out of our control,” Drexler said. “We looked at last October, and it was the perfect storm. We had incredible weather all fall, we had pent-up demand after canceling our 2023 show, and I think also just, we’ve gathered a really strong following.”
The 2024 show was also the first year in which Caffeine & Carburetors charged an attendance fee for those wanting to display their vehicles, a decision which raised more than $24,000 for the Waveny Park Conservancy. (C&C also has raised $16,000 for the New Canaan Community Foundation.)
“One hundred percent of those funds went directly to the Conservancy,” Drexler noted. “So we are planning to follow that same format this year.”
Further updates regarding Caffeine and Carburetors’ 2025 schedule will be available on their website: https://caffeineandcarburetors.com/.