Canberra sleepily welcomes in the new year, streets are quiet, and many residents have headed to the coast or interstate. Soon, we’re jolted awake again by the smell of petrol and the revving of engines as the entrants make their way to EPIC for the country’s biggest car festival. To be held from 5 to 8 January, Summernats 35 promises to be the festival’s biggest and best iteration yet.

For the first time in Summernats’ history, car entries have completely sold out and organisers have had to cap numbers. Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez says there was such strong demand that in September they started thinking they might have a record event on their hands.

After much juggling and number crunching, they decided it would be best to cap the number of cars; having had 2,500 entries at the event before, they agreed 2,700 would be the limit. There are still spectator tickets available from the website.

“It’s great to have a sold-out event but people still have to be able to enjoy themselves and get around safely,” Lopez says.

He says they are thrilled to have evolved the event to a place where they have to cap entries, as it demonstrates a lot of faith and loyalty in what they are doing. This time, they want to deliver an even better experience to their attendees, with one very exciting announcement.

“The team from Hoonigan in the US, the world’s biggest content creators in the crazy automotive space, are coming to Summernats to film episodes,” Lopez says.

Famous for their gymkhana videos, Lopez has also pitched the idea of doing one here, however, he wants there to be a very Canberran twist – cruising with an electric car. 

“Canberra sees itself as the capital of EVs and hopefully that will put it on the map,” he says.

The Braddon Fringe Fest returns after its success last year. Organisers have worked together with the ACT Government to provide a fun and safe way for the public to interact with the cars. Once again, the streets of Braddon will be filled with live music as around 250 preselected cars come for a cruise and a bit of a showoff. The team also hopes that it will provide an injection of patrons and cash for nearby small businesses.

“Share a bit of the Summernats love around … taking good, well-managed activities out into the city is a positive model for the future,” Lopez says.

This year also boasts the festival’s biggest music line-up. After headliner Jimmy Barnes had to pull out due to a back injury, the team put their heads together.

“Sometimes adversity forces really good change, so we thought we would go nuts with the line-up. On Friday night, we’ve got Shannon Noll, Daryl Braithwaite, Diesel and Jon Stevens.”

Saturday night brings the party with Bliss N Eso, Stafford Brothers and Brooke Evers. Lopez says they are still on the look-out for a local opening act.

Sadly, one important part of the Summernats festival won’t be in attendance this time – founder Chic Henry, who passed away in April 2022. Lopez says there will be both private and public activities happening to commemorate the man who created something that had never been done anywhere before.

“The joyous nature of Summernats is 100 per cent Chic Henry; he created something that is just really unique. It has his DNA through the event, it will always be there,” Lopez says.

Earlier in 2022, the burnout grandstand was officially named after the founder, something Lopez is grateful happened while Henry was there to enjoy the event.

Returning for the second year since the pandemic began in 2020, Lopez says it feels like a weight has been lifted not having strict Covid-19 safety guidelines to adhere to. While they are still taking it seriously and mitigating risks where possible, organisers feel they can approach things with a more free-spirted approach this time. One of the benefits of EPIC is that it has plenty of great big open spaces, he says.

“If people want to wear a mask, wear a mask; you can be socially distant or you can get amongst it.”

Lopez is passionate about ensuring that “Summernats curious” people who may have not come before out of fear of its reputation know that times have changed.

“It has had troubles in the past and we have worked really hard and cleaned that up; it has been a real focus for the last few years,” he says.

The change was met with no resistance, as the festival was ready to evolve and grow to meet society’s expectations around safety and respect. Lopez says the festival has always been about the cars, the music, and the good times, and they want it to be something everyone can enjoy.

“It’s really good to shake your world up a bit and Summernats is a great place to do that.”

Check out the cars, music, and good times at Summernats 35, Exhibition Park in Canberra, 5-8 January 2023; summernats.com.au

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