Highlands Motoring Festival | Classic Car Show

The Highlands Motoring Festival 2021

A Festival With An Altitude!

The fourteenth annual Highlands Motoring Festival will be held on June 10-13, 2021, in Highlands NC.

The four day festival will include driving events, social gatherings, a parade of Main Street, and car shows. The center piece event will be the invitational “Cars in the Park” car show, which will showcase pre-1990 vehicles of special interest. A 2021 feature will be “Pure Bloods d’Italia”, a curated class of vintage Italian super cars.

Stay tuned for Festival Updates on Facebook.

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
TBD
“One Lap of the Mountains” Driving Tour (Day 1)

Highlands Motoring Festival’s celebrated, and extremely popular, One Lap of the Mountains now offers two days of drives. Carefully curated mountain routes with some of the best scenery in the South. First Day is a road course of less than 100 miles, including a lunch stop. Ticket information will be available soon.
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC
TBD
Welcome Soirée at the Bascom

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 information will be available soon.
Where
Bascom Center for the Visual Arts

Day 2 - Friday
June 11, 2021
TBD
“One Lap of the Mountains” Driving Tour (Day 2)

The One Lap Grande, “The Original”, features another road course, this greater than 150 miles, and also includes a lunch stop. Ticket information will be available soon.
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC
TBD
Parade of Main Street

Classic cars lap Main Street to entertain hundreds of spectators.
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC
TBD
Parade Party

Informal “Gearhead” social gathering at a local pub.
Where
Location to be announced

Day 3 - Saturday
June 12, 2021
TBD
Cars in the Park – Premier Event

A juried display of approximately 100 specially selected 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, caps, and “One Lap of the Mountain” tour books will be available for purchase to support our local human needs charities.

Automobile entry applications will open later in the Fall on this web site. Check back often.
Where
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park in Highlands, NC
TBD
Awards Gala

Another special evening of featuring by food, beverage, charity auction, a special presentation by another renowned automotive expert, as well as awards presentations from the Cars in the Park show.

Ticket information will be available soon.
Where
Highlands Falls Country Club

Day 4 - Sunday
June 13, 2021
TBD
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