Antique pickup trucks to vintage tractor trailers on tap for 19th annual show in South Deerfield

Attendees of the 2016 antique truck show at the Yankee Candle Corporate Headquarters in South Deerfield look inside the engine compartment of a classic Chevrolet pickup truck. The 19th annual event returns Sunday.

Attendees of the 2016 antique truck show at the Yankee Candle Corporate Headquarters in South Deerfield look inside the engine compartment of a classic Chevrolet pickup truck. The 19th annual event returns Sunday. STAFF FILE PHOTO

The hood ornament on a Peterbilt 359 truck at the 2016 antique truck show at the Yankee Candle Corporate Headquarters in South Deerfield. The 19th annual event returns Sunday.

The hood ornament on a Peterbilt 359 truck at the 2016 antique truck show at the Yankee Candle Corporate Headquarters in South Deerfield. The 19th annual event returns Sunday. STAFF FILE PHOTO

By CHRIS LARABEE

Staff Writer

Published: 04-30-2024 11:12 AM

Modified: 04-30-2024 2:16 PM


SOUTH DEERFIELD — Vintage trucks of all models will be on hand on Sunday, May 5, as the Antique Truck Club of America’s western Massachusetts chapter kicks off the club’s truck show season with its 19th annual event.

As it has been for years, the truck show will be held rain or shine at the Yankee Candle Corporate Headquarters on Yankee Candle Way off of Routes 5 and 10. The public is invited to spend the day seeing everything from antique pickup trucks to vintage tractor trailers. The event begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m.

Phil Judd, president of the Antique Truck Club of America’s western Massachusetts chapter, said entry to the event is free and it’s a wonderful family-friendly event.

“That’s the big thing is being a free event. We try to keep it that way so people can come out and enjoy it — there’s not much that’s free these days,” Judd said. “It’s a good time and there’s usually a lot of unique things to see.”

The number of trucks entering the show each year changes and is often weather-dependent. Judd said the 2023 edition saw 200 trucks of all types, including pickup trucks, dump trucks and even an old cement mixer.

Antique trucks of all kinds are welcome, especially because Judd noted not everybody has a commercial driver’s license to drive the classic tractor trailers and other large vehicles. Previous shows have featured models from the 1930s all the way to the early 1990s, with the general consensus that an “antique” truck is more than 25 years old.

Alongside admission, parking is free on site and there will be raffles and food vendors available. Food vendors include Local Burgy, The Farmer’s Daughter, Ol’ Buckets Maple Kettle Corn and Snow’s Ice Cream Co. Judd thanked all the sponsors and volunteers who help make the truck show possible.

While most of the event’s details are the same this year, Judd said organizers are introducing a $100 door prize for folks entering trucks into the show, with each truck equaling one raffle entry. He added he hopes this might entice some more people to break their trucks out of the garage.

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Sunday’s show marks the first event of the Antique Truck Club of America’s show season, which begins in South Deerfield and then heads to Bethlehem, Connecticut, on June 8 before moving around the Northeast and Midwest.

For more information about the western Massachusetts chapter, visit its Facebook page at Facebook.com/WesternMassATCA. For more information about the Antique Truck Club of America, visit its website at antiquetruckclub.org.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.