As cars made their way past the covered bridge at The Bascom and down Franklin Road heading for the Cullasaja Gorge the roar was audible.
Dozens of sports cars, classics, antiques, and all other variations of unique automobiles were off and running as part of the Highlands Motoring Festival on Thursday morning. The four-day event kicked off with “One Lap of the Mountains” driving tours on Thursday and Friday before opening up to the public for a series of events in town.
“Every year we do our best to bring in a group of vehicles that are truly unique and it takes a lot of effort to pull it off,” festival board member Mark Chmar said. “Fortunately, we have a great group of volunteers – Steve Ham, Ricky Siegel, all of the guys that give their time. It’s a labor of love and it’s a fun way to raise money for some amazing nonprofits.”
Friday night featured a car parade down Main Street where spectators gathered to get a look at the vehicles participating in the festival. The theme for the weekend was “Pre-WWII classics” so cars from 1940 and years prior took center stage.
On Saturday the cars and their owners gathered in Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park for the annual “Cars in the Park” juried car show. The show is always the biggest and best attended event of the festival weekend, according to Chmar.
“Our show isn’t as big as some of the ones in Amelia Island, or Chattanooga, but it has an intimate feel,” Chmar said. “Folks can come to the park, have a cup of coffee, see all the cars and get to meet the people that have worked so hard to preserve them.”
The festival wrapped up on Sunday with the “High Octane” car show. Less formal than the juried show on Saturday, High Octane offers a wider array of vehicles since anyone with a classic car can drop by.
All proceeds from the motoring festival go to REACH of Macon County, the Literacy and Learning Center, and the Community Care Clinic of Highlands and Cashiers.