News

‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Raises $27,000 for Waveny Park Conservancy

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The October installment of Caffeine & Carburetors, the popular car show, raised more than $27,000 for a nonprofit organization that works to ensure that Waveny Park continues to thrive. The Waveny Park Conservancy is “thrilled” to receive the support from Caffeine & Carburetors, according to the organization’s chair, Fell Herdeg. “It’s a meaningful gift to the Conservancy,” he said Thursday evening from the forecourt of Waveny House, accepting the gift alongside Conservancy Executive Director Michelle Crookenden from C&C from founder Doug Zumbach and Director of Business Development Claire Drexler. 

Herdeg added: “We love that they’re able to hold it here and I think it draws more people into town—the beauty of our town, the beauty of the park, get to experience the park, all which we think are just wonderful benefits. We’re very appreciative of their support.”

Launched by Zumbach outside his eponymous coffee shop on Pine Street, C&C since last year has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local causes and organizations including the Conservancy, New Canaan Community Foundation, Automotive Assistance Fund and New Canaan Chamber of Commerce “Shop New Canaan” gift card program. 

The total raised from October’s show, which requires antique and specialty show car owners to register for a fee, was $27,476. Overall, Drexler said, C&C — which now is held twice per year, once downtown and once at Waveny — “has become much more organized.”

“We have established great communication channels with all of our partners involved, including the police, the CERT volunteers and the town of New Canaan,” Drexler said.

Around Town

Downtown ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Raises $16,000 for Local Causes

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The biannual Caffeine & Carburetors that took place last month raised more than $16,000 for local causes. On June 22, thousands of people filled the streets of downtown New Canaan to admire the specialty and antique cars on display at the event founded by Doug Zumbach, owner of the coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets. After benefitting the New Canaan Community Foundation and Waveny Park Conservancy last year,  Caffeine & Carburetors in its first installment of 2025 raised thousands for the Automotive Assistance Fund. It helps New Canaan residents facing financial hardship with essential car repairs and maintenance. “We started the Automotive Assistance Fund because we saw a gap in the funding that’s available through New Canaan Human Services,” Director of Business Development of Caffeine & Carburetors Claire Drexler said.

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PHOTOS: Caffeine & Carburetors Comes to Downtown New Canaan on Sunday

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Thousands of car-lovers packed into New Canaan on Sunday morning for this year’s downtown installment of “Caffeine & Carburetors.”

Through a drizzle on an otherwise comfortable day, visitors to the car show launched by New Canaan’s Doug Zumbach—owner of the eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets—stopped to admire specialty and classic autos, take photos and videos, and chat with owners and vendors on Elm and Pine Streets, closed for pedestrians. “It’s going wonderfully,” Zumbach said as C&C was in full swing. “It proves one thing: That we have a very dedicated ‘fan base,’ you could say. Appreciative of everyone who has come out—sponsors, car owners, pedestrians. It’s just a wonderful show.

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‘We Have a Guardian Angel’: New Program Helps Locals Struggling with Auto Repair and Maintenance Costs

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New Canaan residents struggling with car-related costs can now get help through a new partnership involving the town, a nonprofit organization and local businesses. Caffeine & Carburetors—the antique and specialty car show launched by town resident Doug Zumbach outside his eponymous coffee shop on Pine Street—last year raised tens of thousands of dollars for the New Canaan Community Foundation and Waveny Park Conservancy. This year’s downtown C&C, scheduled for June 22, will direct all show funds—including those raised through its registration system—toward a new program that helps qualified New Canaanites with car maintenance and repair costs. 

“When we were thinking about the best use of these funds, we really wanted to make sure that it was going back into our community, and to support local families in one way or another,” C&C Director of Business Development Claire Drexler said. “And we felt like this, with the automotive tie-in, was the perfect way for us to give back to New Canaan, which has been so gracious in allowing us to continue to host this event.”

There are two Caffeine & Carburetors shows scheduled for this year, June 22 (downtown) and Oct. 19 (Waveny).

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Parks & Rec Approves Oct. 19 Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny

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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. 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. “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.