Stare only envisaged it running for a couple of years, but it took on its own momentum and has rumbled into Rangiora for more than three decades.
This weekend is the 36th anniversary of the Trillo Metals Muscle Car Madness event, with Stare steering the show, which has a huge economic impact on the town, for the last time.
He has sold MCM to former All Blacks lock and car enthusiast, Brodie Retallick, who is plying his trade on the rugby fields of Japan.
He takes over ownership at the end of March.
‘‘Its time to go,’’ says Stare, who finds the endless red tape in this day and age challenging.
‘‘Brodie was born in Rangiora and has extended family in Amberley.
‘‘This will be life after rugby.
‘‘He has been coming to the show in Rangiora since he was a child, and he is really excited about his new venture,’’ Stare says.
Stare began the event 36 years ago, thinking at the time it would be a great spot for a family picnic weekend. A total of 44 cars rolled into town. Today the tally reaches well over 1000 and rising.
‘‘It just kept doubling in size. ‘‘I never expected it to still be going 36 years on,’’ the busy organiser says. ‘‘When I started it up, I thought it would be cool if it lasted a couple of years.’’
International recognition through magazine exposure boosted its popularity even further, and it has been hard to put the brakes on it since.
‘‘So, if you are a petrolhead of any age, this is the place to go, smack in the middle of the South Island at the A&P showgrounds in the beautiful country town of Rangiora, just 27 kilometres from Christchurch,’’ Stare said back in the day.
He is not turning his back on the show. He will be about for the next one as a ‘‘mascot on the bonnet of a car, or a flag on an aerial’’, he jokes.
But organising the event has been anything but a joke for the past decade or so.
The hurdles he has had to clear, police demands over the twin town cruise through Kaiapoi and Rangiora on the Thursday evening, and having to placate a few neighbours of the showgrounds at times, has taken a lot of joy out of the event.
The final straw is now having to apply for a Resource Consent to hold the event.
Fortunately the council has helped with the cost of this paperwork.
‘‘It is such a spectacle for the area.
‘‘Rangiora doesn’t really have any other draw card, and has put it on the world stage,’’ he says.
But the after 36 years, Stare says it has lost a bit of its ‘‘sparkle’’ for him.
‘‘I love it when it all begins to happen,’’ he says. But he is not a fan of modern technology, and tackling the internet to run the business, bookings, and organise the event.
‘‘That is all beyond me.
‘‘It has been fun, but it is time to go.’’
Muscle Car Madness show opens on Saturday, January 24, and Sunday, January 25, 9am to 4pm. Adults $20, under 16 free.
The ‘‘Twin Town’’ cruise is on this evening, Thursday, January 22. It starts from Rangiora High School just before 7pm and heads to Kaiapoi, then back to Rangiora.
