The annual Dorchester Park Classic Car Show will return next month, bringing antique autos, music, horse-drawn rides, and family activities to the ballfield known by locals as the Adams Street “bowl” on Sunday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There is no admission charge for spectators, and owners of antique and classic vehicles can enter their cars in the show for free on the day of the event. The show has become a popular late-summer tradition in the park.
In 2024, more than 70 classic vehicles filled the bowl on a sunny Sunday, including a rare 1941 Mercury “Woodie” and a Mustang Mach 1. This year’s gathering will again offer attractions beyond the automobiles. A DJ will provide a soundtrack featuring music from some of the eras represented by the vehicles, while a horse-drawn cart will take visitors on tours through the park, designed by the firm of renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s, earning it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
Students from the Boston School of Music are scheduled to perform near the Richview Street entrance, with refreshments available from local vendors nearby. Along the path leading toward the ball field, volunteers from Historic New England will offer children’s activities and information about the Pierce House, the circa-1683 Dorchester landmark that was home to generations of the Pierce family. The Dorchester Historical Society will also have a table highlighting some of the neighborhood’s historic homes.
Free books for children are available at ground level so children of all ages can choose books to take home. Books that children have outgrown can be donated on the day of the event or left on the porch at 75 Crescent Street before September 13.
For more information about the car show, text Paul Mooney at 401-280-0775 or see Dorchester Park on Facebook.
