How to go
What: Concours d’Elegance Preview Party
Where: Carillon Historical Park, 1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton
When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19
Cost: $85 general admission, $75 Dayton History members and car participants
How to go
What: Concours d’Elegance
Where: Carillon Historical Park, 1000 Carillon Blvd., Dayton
When: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20
Cost: $10 adults in advance, $15 day of show, $5 children 3-17 and free to Dayton History members and children younger than 3
More info: www.daytonconcours.com
After 10 years at Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Concours d’Elegance relocated to Carillon Historical Park in 2006. It proved to be the perfect location for the high end classic car show, which returns from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
“With the automotive heritage of this community and the innovations that have come out of here, there’s no other place a show like this should be than Carillon Park,” Concours d’Elegance chair Skip Peterson said. “It’s a vibrant place. It’s not an old dingy museum. Carillon Park has a lot cool aspects to it and the Concours is just one more thing.”
The entries were selected by show director Mike Edgerton and a committee of six automotive judges and two motorcycle judges. A sampling from the 200 vehicles includes a 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air Coupe, 1965 Shelby American Cobra 289, a 1950 Ford Anglia hot rod and Blackjack Special, a Jaguar-inspired vintage racecar.
“We attract different cars every year,” Peterson said. “We don’t accept the same entries each time. There’s a portion of cars that are rejected because we are full, they don’t meet the standards of the restoration or the cars have been shown too many times. Luckily, the word of mouth among the automotive community is great so the number of different owners bringing different cars has grown.”
Attendance at Concours d’Elegance also grows each year. Peterson says that’s because Concours offers much more than classic cars.
“This isn’t just a cruise-in,” he said. “It’s a family-friendly event where the kids and mom can visit all the things at the park and go to all the exhibits. We have automotive art from a dozen artists in the Jim & Linda Sachs Pavilion and a juried selection of hand-built model cars in the Transportation Center.
“We’ll have a flyover by the Wright B Flyer at noon,” Peterson said. “You can get a variety of food to eat. It’s relaxing and low key, so it’s fun. And it’s a fundraiser for Dayton History, so it’s for a worthy cause.”
For people interested in an early look at some of the Concours vehicles, Dayton History is hosting a preview party at Carillon Historical Park at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
“The preview party is a casual event,” Peterson said. “It’s not black tie by any means. We’ve got the silent auction, music and a DJ. You can have some beverages and something to eat. You can sit at tables with your friends and you can dance if you want to. It’s a great time.”
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