JCCS to go virtual and worldwide for 2020

Of all the events on the auto show calendar, the Japanese Classic Car Show ranks as one of our favorites. Unfortunately, it cannot be held this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the organizers have something special planned that will let us to continue celebrating classic Japanese cars without having 10,000 people congregating in one place.

They’re calling it World Matsuri Week, and it will be a week-long virtual show hosted on social media and YouTube. Matsuri means “festival” in Japan, and are often multi-day events that see entire towns taking over local streets.

JCCS has long attracted attendees from all over the world, but it hasn’t always been easy for them too bring their actual cars to the California venue. This was especially true for those from the east coast, Japan, Australia, the UK, and beyond. With the online event, this will be an opportunity to see some truly spectacular cars from around the world compete on equal footing.

So this year, JCCS is going to be done via photo and video submission. There will still be awards, with recipients judged on “workmanship and presentation.” Entrants will be eligible to receive the annual JCCS Omiyage Package — which includes a commemorative T-shirt, decal sheet, and a dash plaque — shipped to their home. In fact, this will be a rare opportunity for overseas entrants to get one of the coveted JCCS dash plaques without actually shipping their cars to Long Beach.

All entrants will have their cars featured in a World Matsuri Week Gallery the JCCS 2020 website. The best cars from each category will be featured in a series of YouTube videos, hosted by JNC contributor Patrick Strong of Model Citizen Diecast. JCCS is also working with several publications, like Kousoku Yuen of Japan and here on JNC, to feature select cars (Disclaimer: JNC is not affiliated with JCCS, but we are supporters and fans of the event).

It’s a little sad that we won’t be able to celebrate certain milestones in person (Mazda’s 100th Anniversary comes around only once in a lifetime!), but given the situation this is probably the only way to have the show go on this year. If you’re interested, registration begins August 15. For more information, visit the JCCS website.