Highlands Motoring Festival draws aficionados by the thousands
Photo by Clay Nations Photography
Spring brings many gifts — daffodils, robins, fewer clothing layers — and for classic-car enthusiasts throughout the Southeast, it brings a particularly shiny gift in the form of the Highlands Motoring Festival, the annual charity car event celebrating its 19th year in June. The festival draws exhibitors from multiple states and as many as 5,000 visitors to Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park in the village center, all of whom share an appreciation for the history, art, and horsepower presented in the world’s elite marques.
A small army of volunteers assembles each year to mount the event, which offers not only the opportunity to ogle beautiful and exciting automobiles but the chance to enjoy one of seven mountain driving tours on one’s own vintage wheels. Other activities include a Parade of Classic Cars along Main Street and a judged “Classics in the Park” car show, all under the baton of this year’s Grand Marshall, Wayne Carini, of the Discovery Channel’s “Chasing Classic Cars.”
“There are a lot of moving pieces for this event,” says Chairman Ricky Siegel. Last year, $100,000 was raised for local and regional charities, drawn in part from entry fees for each of the “One Lap of the Mountains” driving tours. These tight, curvy routes in and around Highlands, which rises to an elevation of 4,118 feet above the steep Cullasaja Gorge, are designed and planned by volunteers, who still fondly recall the 2019 Lap that included a marriage proposal during a stop at Bridal Veil Falls.
The Lards bring their 1936 red Ford pickup to every show.
Photo by Clay Nations Photography
Siegel is himself a classic-car buff, especially prizing his two Corvettes, a boldly sculpted 2019 and a sleek 1967 that some consider the best of the Corvette’s lineage. (Past years have focused on BMWs, Porsches, and other luxury brands, and supercars such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis also make regular appearances.)
Gus Lard and his wife Jan helped create the festival, joining with a group of fellow enthusiasts in late 2007 to start planning the inaugural event, which in the beginning was a one-day Saturday show. Lard’s 1967 Corvette Coupe was featured on the festival’s first poster, and selections from his considerable collection of classics filled out the show fields of those early days. “From the inception it was decided that our event would bring new people to town to benefit Highlands businesses, would be free to the public [for the Saturday showcase in the park], and would operate as a true nonprofit, with all money made, less expenses, going to local charities,” Lard says.
In past years, Lard’s exhibited everything from a 1950 Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle to a 1966 Shelby GT 350. His 1936 bright-red Ford pickup truck remains a fixture of the show each year, as it has since 2012.
Photo by Clay Nations Photography
The logistics of staging a four-day car show in a secluded mountain town can be challenging. “Highlands [has] maybe only 1,000 year-round residents, so we have to be mindful of the limited space for exhibitors and visitors,” Siegel explains. While open to the public, Classics in the Park on Saturday is an invitation-only affair for exhibitors, capped at 85 cars. Nevertheless, participants come from all over the Southeast, from Kentucky and Tennessee to Georgia and Florida.
This year’s event won’t highlight a specific marque; instead, it will be organized around an American versus British theme, specifically Corvettes v. Jaguars. Visitors will also find exhibition areas dedicated to specific categories, like Golden Age cars from the first half of the 20th century (last year’s Best of Show was a spiffy blue 1937 Peugeot roadster), or high-octane sports cars from more recent decades.
“It’s grown from a one-day Saturday car show to a full-blown concours over four days,” says Lard. “New leadership has, over the years, taken the festival to a level many never imagined.”
The 19th Annual Highlands Motoring Festival happens Thursday, June 11 through Sunday, June 14. “Classics in the Park” on Saturday, June 13, runs 9:30am-4pm in Kelsey-Hutchinson Park and is free for spectators. For a complete schedule of events, visit highlandsmotoringfestival.com.