Government

Testy Parks Officials Critical of ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ at Waveny

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During a testy meeting last week, parks officials said the ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ auto enthusiasts’ gathering at Waveny in June violated several of the conditions established for the event. Though the June 17 show “was very well attended and it was a beautiful day” and “people seemed to really enjoy it,” still some members of the Parks & Recreation Commission “were concerned that some of the procedures we asked to be put in place were not followed,” Commission Chair Sally Campbell said Wednesday night. “We had some controls over who was coming and exhibiting cars, and we wanted to ensure that our fields and our park weren’t damaged and then we were concerned about safety,” Campbell said at the meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “All of these are very correctable. But we just wanted to bring them up because we thought they were very important.”

According to Campbell, about half of the exhibitors who had registered in advance did not display show placards on their windshields, many spectators appeared to drive into Waveny by South Avenue instead of parking at New Canaan High School, as planned, exhibitor cars were parked in front of the footpath along the main road through Waveny, forcing pedestrian traffic into the roadway and unauthorized food trucks were selling food and creating a mess.

Around Town

PHOTOS: Caffeine & Carburetors Sparkles at Waveny

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Hundreds of classic and specialty auto enthusiasts gathered Sunday morning at Waveny for the second installment of the Caffeine & Carburetors car show of the 2018 season and first at the beloved park. Visitors parked at New Canaan High School and made their way to Waveny under cloudless skies to photograph hundreds of unique cars that had registered ahead of time for the popular free event, mingle with fellow auto appreciators and get the “inside scoop” from New Canaan’s own Peter Bush, who emceed. 

Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous Pine Street coffee shop where Caffeine & Carburetors was born, roamed through the crowds as his own volunteers as well as those from the Community Emergency Response Team and New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps kept the show running safely and smoothly, as ever. Cars lined the forecourt at Waveny House and edges of its playing fields and walking paths, as well as the driveways and lots down toward the Powerhouse Theater and Carriage Barn Arts Center. Toure Surgeon of Bankwell, a major sponsor, said: “Bankwell is a community bank. We are here for the community.

Around Town

PHOTOS: ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Kicks Off 2018 Season in Downtown New Canaan

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Hundreds of classic and specialty car enthusiasts visited downtown New Canaan on a clear, crisp morning Sunday for the first Caffeine & Carburetors show of the 2018 season. People gripping coffee cups, baby strollers and dog leashes strolled along Pine Street and the one-way stretch of Elm, both cordoned off for pedestrians. Police, volunteers and members of the Community Emergency Response Team or ‘CERT’ guided visitors and motorists safely across Park Street and led out a limited number of show cars whose owners left early. “It’s going very well,” said Doug Zumbach, who founded Caffeine & Carburetors outside his eponymous coffee shop on Pine Street eight years ago. “Once again the enthusiasts have come out, the residents have come out.

Government

Parks Officials Approve Waveny ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ with New Registration System

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Parks officials at a recent meeting voted unanimously to support more tightly controlled Caffeine & Carburetors auto enthusiasts gatherings this summer and fall at Waveny. The June 17 and Oct. 21 events will see a new online registration system for classic and specialty “show” cars as well as designated parking in the New Canaan High School lots for spectators of the popular event—steps designed to address concerns from town officials when some 1,500 cars descended on Waveny for the most recent Caffeine & Carburetors there in the fall of 2016. Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Sally Campbell said at the group’s Feb. 14 meeting that an agreement between the town and event founder Doug Zumbach—owner of the eponymous gourmet coffee shop on Pine Street where Caffeine & Carburetors was founded—has been updated to reflect the changes.

Around Town

‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ To Return: Organizers Seek Four Dates in 2018

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The New Canaan founder of Caffeine & Carburetors, the hugely popular grassroots gathering of specialty and classic auto enthusiasts, said Wednesday night that he’s seeking to hold four events in 2018. Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop on Pine Street where Caffeine & Carburetors began with just 50 cars eight years ago, told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission that he’s seeking two dates at Waveny and two downtown. “We are deciding to come back this year after taking a year off,” Zumbach told commissioners at their regular meeting, held in Lapham Community Center. New this year, Zumbach said, will be an online registration system for car owners seeking to participate in the show, possible mobile app, increased insurance policy for the event (doubled to $2 million) and lecture series at New Canaan Library that touches on topics such as car restoration and teenage driving. The specific dates that Zumbach is seeking are April 22 (downtown), June 17 (Waveny), Sept.