Tops Down at Edmonds Car Show

 

9/7/25 1937 Nash LaFayette, Edmonds Classic Car & Motorcycle Show

Although the Greenwood Car Show is still the Seattle area’s best and biggest annual car show, the Edmonds Classic Car & Motorcycle Show is a very close second. Like Greenwood, the Edmonds show has a strong community feeling. Another high point is that it seems to have a stronger emphasis on classic cars – and lots of convertibles, to boot. The only drawback is that the streets of Edmonds are narrower, so it’s harder to walk during peak times, and it feels more compressed, even though it probably draws a slightly smaller crowd. In any case, this was my third year, and it’s definitely staying on my calendar of annual sketching events!

Since I didn’t arrive until late morning, it was lunchtime by the time I finished doing an initial walk-through of the whole show (a fun habit I developed at the Greenwood show so that I could get my fitness walk first as I note which cars to draw later). I spotted an ideal table on the sidewalk at Market Edmonds. While munching fish and chips, I sketched a bright red 1937 Nash LaFayette (above), which was almost fully in view.

I spent the rest of the afternoon sketching in the way I love most: Wandering around the entire show, stopping to sketch whenever and wherever something caught my eye (below). I saw so many beautiful convertibles, including a beloved ’57 T-Bird and a Mustang! Not just cars, though – I enjoy catching things that make the show a community event, like the two teenagers busking with their cellos. It’s also always amusing to jot comments I overhear as well as comments made directly to me.

When I started to run out of steam, I took an ice cream break at Molly Moon’s while facing the rear ends of a row of diagonally parked cars. These were my favorite cars to draw of the whole show. Not caring about how wonky my sketches were, I was intrigued by the shifting perspective and challenging foreshortened views from where I sat.

So many gorgeous convertibles!

This is the same T-Bird I sketched... my favorite!