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On Sunday 28th May we took a walk along Chesham High Street to see over 100 Italian cars and bikes – this was a little bit of Amalfi, right here on our doorstep!
The Rotary Club of Chesham in partnership with the Italia AutoMoto Club launched the first ever Chesham Italian Automoto Festival to provide much needed bank holiday entertainment and contribute to economic rejuvenation of the town centre.
The initial brainchild of car aficionado, local Chesham resident and Rotarian Mark Rosales BEM, the event brought hordes of car enthusiasts, local residents and families from near and far including even a gentleman who had lived in Chesham in 1969, who drove his Abarth car all the way from Pembrokeshire especially for the event and to re-visit the town.
Following on from similar shows which have taken place in the High Streets of Bridgenorth and Devizes, there was a great array of Italian cars on display from the awesome Maserati 3500 GT Coupe, Maserati MC20, Ferrari F40 (which won the “Best in Show” trophy chosen by Rachael Matthews Deputy Cabinet Member for Town Centre Regeneration), parked around the War Memorial to the 812 Superfast, Alfa 4C, Lancia Integrale, the amazing little Fiat 500s and lots of other lovely cars paraded throughout the High Street.
Not forgetting the great display of Italian bikes and scooters from the Ducati Owners Club, MV Agusta Club and Lambretta all of which provided great photo opportunities for visitors.
It was encouraging to see several thousand people enjoying the Bank Holiday sunshine walking through Chesham town centre and bringing a vitality not usually seen on a Sunday.
Local stores and restaurants especially the local Italian Liri Pizzaria had a bumper day with Sam Brown, Owner of The Tavern quoting “What a great day! New record for a Sunday for the Tavern. A big thanks for organising a cracking day!”
The past six months have seen a huge undertaking by the Core Project Team supported by the Rotary Club of Chesham, The Italian Automoto Club, Bucks County Council in pulling the event together. Special thanks is especially given to the car owners who showed their faith in participating in a new event and the amazing volunteers who ensured the smooth running of the event and kept everyone safe on the day.
Speaking after the event, Mark Rosales said “The event truly showed what can be done by the people of Chesham for Chesham…. this is “Our Town” and together with everyone’s support, we can deliver future projects for the benefit of our town and residents. Next year, we hope to expand the event and include more electric vehicles as manufacturers launch them ever mindful of the environmental impact”