It all began in the summer of 1993 when a small group of Boston Classic Car Club enthusiasts sat down over a pint of beer and sandwiches and decided to display a few their treasured classics in the Sleaford Market Square. At that time, very little organisation was required, clearance from the local District Council for the use of the Market Square car park for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon was all that was needed; the club members would provide the cars and public reaction would determine the future development of the concept. The first show went ahead on the first Saturday in September 1993 when slightly less than the planned fifty cars were displayed in the Market Square car park. The public reaction was magnificent, the enthusiasm of both classic car owners and visitors alike exceeding all expectation. A second show was organised the following year, achieving a similar positive public response. This inevitably led to some head scratching as to how improvements could be achieved in planning future events. During the early part of 1995 North Kesteven District Council was developing a programme of events aimed at encouraging residents of the outlying areas to visit Sleaford to see what the town had to offer. An officer from North Kesteven District Council was appointed to co-ordinate the 1995 and subsequent events. It soon became clear that any further development would require more space. Arrangements were therefore made to include the Eastgate car park as part of the venue and open up the car entries to enthusiasts outside the membership of Boston Classic Car Club. For the next three years, up to and including the 1998 event, the entries of historic and classic cars increased greatly and the welcomed inclusion of historic and classic motorcycles added a much wider interest for all. Planning of the 1999 event was to bring about more significant changes which would further develop the enthusiasm of the public to come into Sleaford. ​ THE 1999 EVENT Following an extremely successful, yet depressingly damp, show in September 1998 a decision was taken to transfer responsibility for organising the 1999 and all subsequent historic car and motorcycle events from the District Council to a group of local historic/classic car and motorcycle enthusiasts. As a result, a team of six enthusiasts together with two District Council officers accepted the challenge and began work early in January of 1999. Whilst changes made to an existing organisation are not necessarily always for the better, there is no doubt that new brooms do make a difference when organising events of this type. District Council officers gave us an excellent foundation by arranging sponsorship with local businesses and other commercial organisations. That initial effort provided the necessary finance to procure equipment essential to putting on the event, basic weather protection being a "must" following the experience of the 1998 event. Changes to the management of entrant’s vehicles on arrival, entrant plaque design and the improved display of trophies all combined to provide the basis for what would be a highly successful 1999 event. By the end of August everything was in place, all that was needed was some good sunny weather on the day. Our prayers were answered when the day came, it being one of the hottest and sunniest of the year. On display were 170 historic cars in the Eastgate car park and more than 60 motorcycles in the Market Square. The number of enthusiasts and visitors had increased from previous years and all reports following the event indicated that by far the majority had enjoyed a wonderfully satisfying day and could look forward to the Millennium event the following September. ​THE MILLENNIUM EVENT 2000 Planning for the Millennium event scheduled to be staged on Saturday the 2nd September 2000 began in earnest with a meeting in November 1999. There were a couple of changes to the composition of the Committee. Notably Bill Rogers and Charles Nunn joined the team with the specific aim of improving the motorcycle display. On the down side, we lost Harry Thorpe who had responsibility for the parade through the town. This aspect of the event formed part of the opening ceremony and acted as a taster, hopefully encouraging shoppers to visit the event once their money has been well spent. Free admission for visitors remained a key element of the show and this continues to be the case today. No significant changes were planned for this year; however, as well as the cars and motorcycles we would again have the Sleaford Concert Band perform for us on the Eastgate Green. Live music on site remains an integral part of the show to the present day The 2000 event was a tremendous success, the weather was kind and nearly everything went according to plan! With the newly established Farmer's Market also taking place the town was really buzzing. ​2001 -2016 Since 2000 the events have continued to grow in stature and popularity with a very healthy list of entrants, sponsors, trade stands and excellent public support.  2017 For 2017, the event has been renamed the Sleaford Classic Car & Motorcycle Show, to reflect the ever-growing proportion of classic vehicles, as in comparison to true historic entries. A new committee has been formed, headed by Chairperson Mary Sanders. Mary and her team are all committed classic car and motorcycle enthusiasts who have been involved in the events, in one guise or another over many years. This year will see the return of Miller Magic, playing 2 sessions, entertaining all those attending the show with a lovely range of classic tunes in keeping with the show – back by popular demand having made their debut in 2016. To celebrate the 25th anniversary show the committee are delighted to have a fly past in the afternoon of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s, Supermarine Spitfire Now firmly established as one of the county's most popular and free to view, classic vehicle events, and the future of the show looks extremely bright and promising and on behalf of all those involved in the show, we welcome you and hope you have an enjoyable experience. 2018 -19 The show continued to go from strength to strength with the quality and variety of vehicles on show getting better with each passing year. The live music offer took on a different feel with the local “Blue Grass” combo Itchy Fingers providing the day’s entertainment, much to the delight of all attending. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight put on magnificent displays including the Avro Lancaster and the Spitfire. 2020 Unfortunately due to the Corona Virus Pandemic and the social restrictions imposed by the Government, the committee had to take the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 show. The main criteria for reaching this decision was public safety associated with large gatherings and it was felt that we could not provide such assurances. In hindsight this was the right decision with very few shows happening nationally throughout the summer of 2020. ​2021 Now firmly established as one of the county's most popular and free to view, classic vehicle events, the future of the show looked extremely bright and promising. The 2021 show, was by necessity, a less formal and somewhat smaller event. However we were determined to put on show for people to enjoy after such an extended period of social restrictions. On behalf of all those involved in the show, well done one and all as, despite the ongoing uncertainties there was a healthy turn out of entrants and visitors alike. We actually found that by reducing the amount of administrative tasks and also reducing our outgoings that we, as the organisers, actually enjoyed the show to a greater degree with little or no detriment to the ambiance of the event. It was therefore decided to continue to proceed with the new administrative format. 2022 - 23 With increasing demand in numbers for the display of vehicles and more interest in those wishing to trade at the event, the constraints of the available space at Lafford Terrace forced us to consider our future at this location. This was a difficult decision as the generous support of North Kesteven District Council had made a huge contribution to the success of the event for a number of years and we owe them a great deal of thanks for their support. However the site constraints and the potential re-development of the vacant office buildings to the rear of the site put us in a position where we had to be ahead of the prevailing circumstances and to look for an alternative site within the town. We were determined to retain our proximity to the town centre as we felt this was a significant factor in the show’s success. Our preferred option emerged as the Boston Road Recreation Ground, as we felt this location retained our presence within 2 minutes walk of the town centre and gave us scope to develop the scale of the event in terms of numbers of entries. In early 2023 we duly approached Sleaford Town Council, as the custodians of the site with our proposal to relocate the show to Boston Road in 2024. We presented our options to the Elected Members of the Town Council at committee and we were very pleased to receive their support for our event. Their recognition that the show had become a well established and well loved event within the town was a real boost to those of us who donate our time and effort in to putting on the event. Unfortunately due to personal circumstances our Treasurer declared that she was unable to continue in her role for the future and tendered her resignation in the spring. Having ably carried out this role for a number of years, it was with regret that her resignation was accepted. Alas we were unsuccessful in finding a suitable replacement and her role was shared amongst existing members of the committee. After a very successful event in 2023 with a record turnout and fantastic weather we set our sights on preparation for the move to the new venue, with a real spring in our step. However things do not always work out as you would expect. Again, for personal reasons we lost both our Chairperson Emma and Entries Coordinator Mary from the group, both of whom had been part of the show for many years and played key roles and brought a great deal of passion and experience in the way the show has been put together. We cannot thank them enough for all of their past endeavours. So we now approach a “new look” 2024, with a new venue and (hopefully) new team members to steer the ship. A good job we are up for the challenge!