Community Corner
Super Bowl of Cruise Nights
The Concours d'Elegance presents road rally and gala charity event featuring 60 exotic and rare cars.
Car lover’s motors will be running this weekend as the fifth annual Concours d’Elegance rolls into town.
The first leg of the event is the Space to Ride Road Rally. This year’s road trip is a scavenger hunt, which will take place in the Barrington countryside on Saturday, rather than Friday as it has been in the past, said Executive Director of the Barrington Concours d’Elegance, Patty Dowd Schmitz.
“It’s a 40-mile route through the Barrington countryside. We have stops around the way and you have to get out and do stuff or bring something back. It’s fun and it’s great for families.”
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Although participants sometimes run the course in rare and antique cars, many hop in the family car to enjoy the afternoon.
“We always have a selection of really beautiful exotic cars to the road rally,” Dowd Schmitz said. “But we also have people who come in their minivans and their sedans.”
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The event begins with registration and a continental breakfast at 9 a.m. July 9 at , 600 W. Northwest Highway. The rally will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude at 800 Old Hart Road where awards will be presented and lunch will be served.
The public is invited to come out and see the fabulous classic and sports cars in the parking lot before they take off for the rally.
The Concours d’Elegance Gala Garden Party will be held on Sunday, July 10 at , beginning at 4 p.m. with cocktails among 60 exotic and antique cars.
“That’s where we’re featuring 60 of the world’s finest classic cars,” Dowd Schmitz said. “I call this the Super Bowl of cruise nights.”
The exclusive gathering of autos is by invitation only and gives attendees the opportunity to experience cars that are rarely seen in any other capacity.
“Some of these vehicles are multi-million dollar vehicles that exist in people’s private collections that you never get the chance to see,” Dowd Schmitz said.
This year’s themes are British and pre-World War II automobiles.
“You’ll se a lot of Jaguars, we have a lot of Aston Martin’s, Rolls Royce from the 1900s to the 1970s,” Dowd Schmitz said.
The Barrington Concours d’Elegance benefits the Barrington Area Conservation Trust, an organization that works to preserve open space in the Barrington area.
"It is one of the most important resource protection organizations in the Chicago area,” said Dowd Schmitz. “Barrington is the closest area to Chicago that still remains as open space. We work with private owners to put conservation easements on their land so that as development continues to encroach, it’s a permanent protection. No one can come in, buy that property, and put a hundred houses on it.”
If You Go:
What: The Barrington Concours d’Elegance “The Space to Ride Road Rally.”
Where: The rally registration and continental breakfast begin at Wickstrom Auto Group at 600 W. Northwest Highway.
When: Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the rally begins at 10 a.m. Participants are asked to arrive before 9:30 a.m.
Cost: $75 per vehicle in advance and $85 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased at http://www.barringtonconcours.org/tickets.php
Gala Information:
What: The Barrington Concours d’Elegance Gala
Where:
When: 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 10
Cost: Tickets are $200 and can be purchased at http://www.barringtonconcours.org/tickets.php No tickets will be sold at the door.
