Highlands Motoring Festival | Classic Car Show

June 10-13, 2021 in Highlands, NC

The 14th annual Highlands Motoring Festival begins in:

The 14th Annual Highlands Motoring Festival - June 2021

A friendly event that appeals to everyone.

The focus, of course, is the field of over 75+ high quality invited classic cars. Owners of their collector pieces have gone to considerable effort and expense to put these cars on the show field for all to enjoy. An eclectic field of entries will ensure that there is something for everyone.

A Local Non-Profit Festival

Over the years, the net proceeds have gone to many different charities. This year, REACH of Macon County, Literacy Council of Highlands, and the Community. Care Clinic have been selected as the charity partners. Spectator entry to the show field is free, but a contribution to our charities is appreciated.

Coming Attractions

See some of the vehicles scheduled in 2021.

See Coming Attractions

Event Schedule for Highlands Motoring Festival

June 10-13, 2021. Presented by Highlands Motoring Foundation

Check back often for updates.

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Day 1 - Thursday
June 10, 2021
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Welcome Soirée at the Bascom Sold Out

Welcome Soiree at the Bascom featuring "FreeWheeling – the Allure of the Automobile in Contemporary Art" in the Bunzl Gallery and "Evolution of Post War American Automobile Design" presentation by Bill Warner with cocktails and light appetizers on the Terrace.

Hosted at Highlands’ Bascom Center for the Visual Arts, featuring food, beverages, and a special presentation by a renowned automotive expert. Also included is the opportunity to experience FreeWheeling: The Allure of the Automobile in Contemporary Art.

This exhibition at the Bascom includes original works of art by internationally recognized artists from both America and abroad as well as some extremely special automobiles that epitomize the concept of the automobile itself as art.

Ticket price: $70
Where
Bascom Center for the Visual Arts
9:45am - 3:00pm
“One Lap of the Mountains” Driving Tour (Day 1) Sold Out
All departures for the 'One Lap of the Mountains' are full. If you would like to sign up on the waiting list, please send us a message via our contact form.

Highlands Motoring Festival’s celebrated, and extremely popular, One Lap of the Mountains now offers two days of drives with carefully curated mountain routes and some of the best scenery in the South. The First Day is a road course of less than 100 miles, including a lunch stop.

Entrants may want to bring a chair and/or blanket for the lunch stop. Picnic tables will also be available for those that don’t want to utilize chairs and/or blankets.

"One Lap of the Mountains - Speciale" - Departure A
- 9:45am - Driver’s Meeting
- 10:15am - Depart Kelsey-Hutchinson Park
"One Lap of the Mountains - Classic" - Departure B.
- 10:15am - Driver’s Meeting
- 10:45am - Depart Kelsey-Hutchinson Park
- 3:00pm - All cars have returned to Highlands
Ticket price: $160 (Includes driver and passenger, plus two HMF hats and a 2021 poster)
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC

Day 2 - Friday
June 11, 2021
08:00am - 4:00pm
“One Lap of the Mountains” Driving Tour (Day 2) Sold Out
All departures for the 'One Lap of the Mountains' are full. If you would like to sign up on the waiting list, please send us a message via our contact form.

The One Lap Grande, "The Original", features another road course - greater than 150 miles, and also includes a lunch stop.

"One Lap of the Mountains - Grande"
- 8:00am - Driver’s Meeting - Group A
- 8:30am - Group A Departs Kelsey-Hutchinson Park
- 8:30am - Driver’s Meeting - Group B
- 9:00am - Group B Departs Kelsey-Hutchinson Park
- 4:00pm - All cars have returned to Highlands
Ticket price: $180 (Includes driver and passenger, plus two HMF hats and a 2021 poster)
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC
5:45pm - 6:30pm
Parade of Main Street

Classic cars lap Main Street to entertain hundreds of spectators.

The cars will depart Kelsey-Hutchinson Park at 6:00pm

Free to the public
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC
5:45pm - 8:00pm
Parade Party

Appetizers, beverages, and lots of car talk. On-site dining options on Don Leon’s menu.

Free to the public
Where
Highlands Dive Tavern

Day 3 - Saturday
June 12, 2021
07:30am - 3:45pm
Cars in the Park – Premier Event
"Cars in the Park" Classic Car Show in the Kelsey-Hutchinson Park - a juried display of approximately 100 specially invited automobiles from around the world, representing a diversity of styles and concepts from the earliest days of the automobile through 1989.

The theme for 2021 is "Pure Bloods d’Italia", featuring classic vehicles from grand marques such as Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini. Additional classics expected on the show field include Packards, Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Bentley, Rolls Royce, and others.

Food will be available both on the show field and in the many great restaurants just steps away. Motoring Festival posters, hats, and "One Lap of the Mountain tour books will be available for purchase at the merchandise table.
- 7:30am - Volunteers check-in. Site set-up. Sponsor cars set-up
- 7:45 - Trailered vehicles unload in Kelsey-Hutchinson Park
- 8:30am - Vehicle check-in lines open at main gate, vehicle positioning begins.
- 10:00am - General public enters show field. Live broadcasting begins.
- 10:00am - Judging begins
- 11:00am - Food service begins
- 12:00PM - Gentlemen Start Your Engines
- 3:45pm - Closing announcements, exit gates open to all cars, P/A off.
Free to the public / donations encouraged
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC
6:00pm - 9:30pm
Awards Gala
An evening of food, beverage, charity auction, and special presentation by renowned automotive experts Cam and Bob Ingram with a discussion about the art of automotive restoration, as well as awards presentation from the Cars in the Park show.
- 6:00pm - Doors open, appetizers, and beverages served
- 7:00pm - Awards Presentation
- 7:30pm - “The Art of Auto Restoration” program by special guest speakers: Bob and Cam Ingram
- 8:30pm – 9:30pm - Live Auction
Ticket price: $85
Where
Highlands Falls Country Club

Day 4 - Sunday
June 13, 2021
8:30am - 11:00am
High Octane

Casual automotive gathering open to any interesting automobile. No registration or judging. Late arrivals and early departures permitted.
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC

CELEBRATE ART + AUTOMOBILE

FreeWheeling – the Allure of the Automobile in Contemporary Art

Freewheeling Highlands

Highlands Motoring Festival Committee and The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts are excited to announce CELEBRATE ART + AUTOMOBILE, their collaboration on a unique series of events for the 2021 season. The cornerstones of this celebration are a special exhibition at the Bascom from May 11 – August 21, and the Highlands Motoring Festival June 10 – 13, 2021.

The special exhibition in the Bascom’s Bunzl Gallery, “FreeWheeling – the Allure of the Automobile in Contemporary Art”, will feature works of renowned international automotive artists, including canvas, paper, and sculpture. Additionally, there will be a rotating display of extremely rare and special automobiles in the Gallery that are a testament to the concept of the automobile itself as art.

Visit the Freewheeling Highlands Website

Donate

The Highlands Motoring Festival Foundation is a 501(c)(3) supporting local charities. The Festival has no paid employees and relies entirely on volunteers, event fees, and donations to support its charitable mission. For 2020, through the Highlands Motoring Festival activities, the foundation will raise and distribute critically needed funds to:

Donate

One Lap of the Mountains (Book)

Exciting Drives for Car Enthusiasts

To better accommodate all our mountain driver friends, in 2018 the Highlands Motoring Festival published “One Lap of the Mountains, Exciting Drives for Car Enthusiasts”, a route guide of mountain drives suitable for all interests.

Learn More