Best in Automotive History

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: June 2024

Get ready for the 17th annual Highlands Motoring Festival, happening from June 6 to June 9, showcasing the best in automotive history.

This year’s event promises a spectacular display of automotive exotica across categories, including the Brass era, cars from the pre-World War II era (1920-1940), and judged classics from later periods up to the 1980s.

For 17 years, devotees of the automobile have made the pilgrimage to Highlands to attend its namesake festival. What began in 2008 as a simple single day car show with 114 cars in attendance has evolved into an entire “holy” weekend for the motoring faithful. Voted Best Concours by Classic Motorsports Magazine in 2019, the festival has grown into an important community asset, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to local human needs charities.

The all-volunteer team of enthusiasts who stage the event recognize that a town as unique as Highlands deserves a car show of equal import.

The four-day festival kicks off on Thursday, June 6, with “One Lap of the Mountains.” One of the weekend’s most popular events, it is the first of two exhilarating driving adventures (the second is on Friday), designed to give 50 lucky drivers and their passengers a chance to experience the perilous turns, serpentine roads, and stunning mountain views of Western NC.

Enthusiasts are given another option to view an impressive array of vehicles at Friday evening’s Main Street Parade. Starting from Kelsey Hutchinson Founders Park at 6:05 P.M., the parade historically includes 100 mostly antique and show cars – though anyone is welcome to participate.

The pinnacle of the weekend is Saturday’s “Classics in the Park,” a judged invitational car show. For those whose passion is automobiles, nothing is likely to beat the excitement of the chance to wander through acres of historic cars and consider the legacies of the 85 cars shown here.

Only the most prestigious and uncompromising supercars of the past are eligible and though most of the cars come from private collectors who rarely take their cars out of the garage, this year three public museums are sending vehicles: the Brumos Collection, the Savoy Museum, and the Tampa Bay Automobile Association. These are rare works of art on wheels and history and guests and judges can expect to see some of the rarest and most historically significant automobiles of the 20th century.

Saturday evening brings a gala at the Vineyard at High Holly, featuring Bill Warner, founder of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. The weekend wraps up on Sunday morning with the free “High Octane” social and car gathering at Kelsey-Hutchinson Park, welcoming vehicles and cars of any age.

Don’t miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in automotive history and the motoring faithful in Highlands. For full details, visit HighlandsMotoringFestival.com.