At least for the swap meets that were attached to the shows.
Back in the '80s, it seemed like there was a good, well-attended show every weekend, with a good swap meet attached. National shows were huge, too, like the Super Ford meet, Street Machine Nationals, etc.
But the guys who were in their 40's and 50s in 1983 aren't getting out all that much any more. I stopped into a Classic T-Bird show in Livonia, MI last summer that pretty well validated the aging-of-the-hobby narrative.