Plateau Magazine June-July 2023

history
Packard Roadster.
Porsches lined up as
part of the tribute
to Porsche exhibit at
the Highlands Motor
Festival 2022.
44 | ThePlateauMag.com
Sixteen years later, this event has grown
exponentially in popularity and is considered
one of the premiere car shows in the
country. It has raised over $415,000 for local
charities, and in 2019 was voted “Best Concours”
in the land by Classic Motorsports
Magazine. And it keeps getting better. The
2023 Highlands Motoring Festival, which
will take place June 8-11, is a premiere fourday
classic car show that will feature seven
highly anticipated events, including “Cars
in the Park,” “High Octane,” a charity auction
and gala, “One Lap in the Mountains”
curated driving tours, as well as celebrity
guest British racing driver Brian Redman.
It’s no wonder that automotive enthusiasts
come from all over the world to participate
in this preeminent event that happens to
have the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains
as a scenic backdrop.
The Highlands Motoring Festival has
evolved into a major event on the classic
car calendar but remains unique in that
many activities, including “Cars in the
Park,” are free to the public. Steve Ham, the
Communications Director for the festival,
explained that the location of Highlands
gives this particular motoring festival an
edge. “Most big car shows have to pay tens
of thousands of dollars to rent a golf course
or large venue. HMF has something better,
Kelsey Hutchinson Park. The park is
only one block from Main Street with its
boutiques, specialty shops, and restaurants,
making this a popular show with spouses.”
Since 2008, the Highlands Motoring
Festival has changed in size and scope to
include two curated driving tours, social
gatherings, a parade on Main Street, and
two impressive car shows - the highly selective
“Cars in the Park,” and “High Octane,”
which is open “to all interesting vehicles.”
Originally HMF was a fall event, but for
logistical reasons and the automotive events
calendar, it has been permanently moved
to the second weekend in June. In its first
year, it attracted 114 cars, most of which
were American muscle cars, hot rods, and
pre-WWII classics. Ham elaborated on
the evolution of entries, “Allan Lewis was
Highlands’ most beloved car nut, and he
would bring his Ford Model T, Model A, and
1940 Roadster. Local car builder/customizer
Tim Voss has amazing cars that are
often displayed, including some in 2023. In
2019, the featured marque was the cars of
Carroll Shelby. Twelve Cobras and Shelby
Mustangs came to Highlands along with
Chuck Cantwell, the program manager for
Shelby American back in the day. However,
in recent years, HMF has attracted a strong
presence of high-end European classics.
The HMF planning committee recognizes
the capacity limits of the town in terms of
lodging, parking, and traffic. In order to
grow the festival, the focus has changed
from volume to quality. In 2008 there were
114 entries, while in 2023, there will be
85. To rectify this situation, a second car
show, ‘High Octane’ is staged on Sunday
morning. Open to all interesting vehicles,
locals and visitors can display their babies
and socialize with other gearheads.”
There have been numerous highlights
of the HMF, including a proposal. In 2019
one young man stopped along the “One Lap
in the Mountains” driving tour in front of
Bridal Veil Falls, got down on one knee, proposed
marriage to his girlfriend, and was
accepted! Ham shared some other favorite
memories over the years, “One year, Sam
Jenkins was displaying his drag racing car,
a ‘funny car.’ It was suggested that it would
be cool to crank it up for the crowd to experience
the incredible sound of several thousand
horsepower. Problems developed with
the starting battery. To the rescue came
the Highlands Fire Dept with a fire truck
and jumper cables. The crowd went crazy.”
“A major turning point occurred in 2016
when Mercedes Benz was selected as the
featured marque. Mr. KB Pierce agreed
to display his 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing,
one of the most coveted collector cars
worth over a million dollars at the time.
Highlands summer resident, Gerry Sutter-