Hatboro Revving up for Car Show

York Road in Hatboro will be a parking lot this weekend, but the scores of cars and trucks will not be inciting riotous road rage but rather excitement and perhaps some envy.

The Moonlight Memories annual classic-car show will roll into town from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.

The 19th annual show, presented by the , will draw about 500 participants, with each prized vehicle uniquely different from the next.

“They run the full gamut — we have everything from Model Ts to old Mercuries to Cadillacs to Corvettes to Camaros,” explained Chamber of Commerce president Bill George. “We have some of everything but they’re all classic cars, all vintage.”

Trophies will be given out to the Top 50 vehicles, and about 10 specialized prizes will also be handed down. The awards ceremony will take place around 9 p.m. at the main stage, in front of 118 S. York Road.

The event, which in past years has drawn 75,000-100,000 spectators, will also feature live entertainment, an assortment of auto-related vendors and food from eateries throughout the Hatboro and Horsham area.

The owners of the cars and trucks hail not just from the region but come from as far away as Youngstown, Ohio, or Elkton, Md., and are a good mix of newcomers and longtime exhibitors, George said.

Bruce Gamble will be coming all the way from Lynn Haven, Fla., to show his 1967 Mustang convertible.

Gamble, who was born in Abington and grew up in Pennsylvania, was planning a trip for a high school reunion as well as business and juggled his schedule around to make room for the show - even though he’s never been to Hatboro.

It’s sort of a homecoming for me," Gamble said. “It sounds like a huge show and I like the fact that it’s at night as well. So this is a new venue for me, and I’m really looking forward to it."

Another registrant, Hatboro resident William Harrar, has lived in the area his whole life.

While he has attended Moonlight Memories for years, this will mark the first time he’ll be participating in the show with his 1952 Chevy stake body truck.

"I always go and I see all these great trucks and I’ve always wanted to show my truck in it but just never did before. And I figured, I may be running out of years, so why not enter it this year?”

Harrar said the social aspect of the show has kept him coming back year after year.

“It’s a real in-town friendly type of event. When you’re older, a lot of times you only see people you haven’t seen in a while at funerals,” Harrar joked. “I grew up in Horsham and with something like this you really get to see so many people you haven’t talked to in a while and it’s just a real nice family-friendly day.”

George said the show is a big draw with families and attracts both car aficionados and non-car buffs.

And for longtime residents, George noted the show will take them back to a different era in Hatboro history.

“Hatboro was traditionally a cruising town,” he said. “Back in the ’70s and ’80s, this was where everyone would come to show off their cars — people would cruise up and down York Road every Friday night. So it’s like we’re bringing these cars home.”