Car lovers take over town
Stratford was overtaken by visitors over the weekend as cars of all types came to town.
Hundreds of muscle cars, owners and spectators visited the town centre for Americarna on Friday.
This was then followed by the New Zealand Stockcar Teams Championship on Saturday, which brought in people from all around the country.
Mayor Neil Volzke said it had been a huge two days for the town.
‘‘It’s good for Stratford, good for Taranaki,’’ Volzke said.
‘‘The local motels have been full for the last week or so.
‘‘There’s been lots of good spinoffs – cafes and eateries have all been very busy, and the (Saturday) market, crowds of people attended that.’’
The Americarna festival of classic American cars stopped in Stratford on Friday morning on its annual cruise around the region.
Volzke said it was a drizzly morning but that played in favour of local businesses, with people taking a break from looking at cars and heading into cafes to avoid getting wet.
‘‘It was a really great turnout despite the weather.’’
There were five rows of cars lining the main street from the southern-most roundabout to the Caltex station at the northern end – and then the same on a street parallel.
‘‘It took them more than an hour to clear out.’’
The town was then treated to the New Zealand Stockcar Teams Championship.
Despite the Friday night being canned because of rain, Saturday was still a hit.
‘‘On the stockcar calendar it’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest event of the year,’’ Volzke said.
‘‘It’s great to host it locally – it’s an important part of tradition and stockcars have been going here for 50 years.’’
Competitors travelled from all over the North and South Island and so did many spectators. Volzke said that showed in the number of cars at the track.
Melissa Wilson, her partner Jacob Laugsen, and their children Casey Thompson, 11, Indee Walsh, 6, Xavier Wilson, 6, and Aurora Wilson, 3, travelled from Whanganui to see the event.
Wilson said she had been watching stockcars since she was a child, and been taking her children since before they could walk.
This was the first time the family had travelled to Taranaki for the day, but they were loving it – earmuffs and all.
‘‘It’s something for the kids to do,’’ she said.
‘‘They love it.’’