Every year the Highlands Motoring Festival rolls into town the second week in June. For 2022, the four-day festival runs from June 9, through June 12. During this week, some of the finest classic cars in existence will be seen in and around Highlands. The public will have several opportunities to experience classic cars including a movie night in the park, a parade of classics on main street, two car shows, and evening socials.
New this year is that the Highlands Performing Arts Center, in collaboration with Highlands Motoring Festival and through the generosity of a grant from Choate Construction, will stage a movie in Kelsey Hutchinson Park on Thursday night, June 9.
The 1981 movie, “The Cannonball Run,” will be projected on a large screen for free public viewing at 9 p.m. The movie features Bert Reynolds and a host of Hollywood stars and is rated PG. Prior to the movie at 8:30 p.m., there will be a program presented by participants in the 1975 Cannonball Baker Memorial Trophy Dash, a cross country car race on public roads that inspired this and several other movies.
The festival will stage six driving tours for owners of classic cars with its “One Lap of the Mountains” driving tours. These tours were sold out months ago. One hundred and fifty drivers and their classics will experience driving the back roads of WNC mountains.
On Friday there will be a parade on Main Street of classics cars. Open to the public, cars will gather at Kelsey Hutchinson Park at 5:30 p.m., for instructions. The parade procession will depart the park at 6 p.m., onto 5th Street and then proceed down Main Street and return up Main Street and back to the park. Following the parade there will be a social gathering at the High Dive on Carolina Way.
The centerpiece of the festival will be the ‘Cars in the Park’ car show on Saturday, June 11, featuring 85 classic cars that have been specifically curated and invited. This year’s featured marque is Porsche and will include two dozen historical and special examples of the breed. Other classics from BMW, Duesenberg, Jaguar, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Austin Healey, Rolls Royce, and Packard will be displayed. Entrance gates open to the public at 9:30 a.m. Free to the public but a donation to the festival’s charities will be welcomed.
One the most popular events is the Fund-Raising Gala held at Highlands Falls Country Club.
This year, a special program will feature automotive legion Miles Collier Over the last 100 years, cars have shaped our lives. But now, new fuels, new modes of travel, new technologies are disrupting the traditional role of the much-loved car and all industrial artifacts; what were once distinct machines are now evolving into multifunctional digital devices. Collier, the founder of the Revs Institute in Naples, Florida, which is regarded as one of the greatest repositories of automobile resources in the world, recently released his ground-breaking book on automobiles as material culture as seen through the lens of archaeology, The Archaeological Automobile: Understanding and Living with Historical Automobiles. Collier will be sharing with those in attendance his remarkable analysis that asks how we should understand and preserve the collective cultural memory that is embodied in the automobile. There will also be a silent auction of automotive oriented items. This Gala includes a meal and is resort casual attire.
All proceeds of the various festival events go to its charity partners; the Literacy and Learning Center, REACH of Macon County, and the Community Care Clinic of Highlands and Cashiers.
If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, contact Jerry Hermanson at 828-526-1991 for more details. For information visit the group’s website www.highlandsmotoringfestival.com
Schedule of events:
Thursday, June 9:
“Movie Night in the Park” with Automotive Program at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founder’s Park from 8:30 - 10:30 p.m.
Friday, June 10:
Classic Car Parade on Main Street to Kelsey-Hutchinson Founder’s Park from 5:45 – 6:30 p.m.
Parade Party from 5:45 – 8:30 p.m., at the High Dive
Saturday, June 11:
“Cars in the Park” Classic Car Show from 9:30 a.m., until 3:45 p.m., at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founder’s Park
Gala Fundraiser with special guest speaker Miles Collier from 6 – 9:30 p.m., at Highlands Falls Country Club
Sunday, June 12:
“High Octane” Car Show and Gathering from 8 a.m., until 11 p.m., at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founder’s Park
- From Staff Reports