For seven years now, it has become a rite of summer on the Kansas City Art Institute campus.
More than 200 vintage, classic and special-interest vehicles, including cars, trucks, race cars, motorcycles and pedal/electric cars belonging to collectors from many states throughout the country will be rolling into town for the seventh annual Art of the Car Concours®. The 2013 event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 23, on the KCAI campus at 4415 Warwick Blvd.
This year, more than 30 awards will be presented during the Concours, including the “People’s Choice” awards for vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles. Ballots submitted by people attending the event determine the “People’s Choice” awards. Event sponsors and others select additional award winners. A hallmark of the Art of the Car Concours® is the tradition of presenting awards created by KCAI students, alumni and sponsors.
Hagerty Insurance, a company specializing in insurance for classic cars and boats, is sponsoring the youth judging event, “Operation Ignite! Connecting Kids and Cars.” This gives youth judges, ages 9 to 14, the opportunity to view and analyze show vehicles up close and interact directly with their owners. To sign up, visit www.artofthecarconcours.com and fill out the registration form.
“We want the kids to ask questions of the Hagerty guides and of the car owners as this is, first and foremost, an opportunity to learn about the
automotive history,” said Concours founder and chairman Marshall Miller.
Free parking for the Concours will be available at the University of Missouri-Kansas City parking garage located at the southeast corner of 50th and Oak streets, just two blocks south of the Concours site. The garage offers three entrances and three elevators. Also available will be a free shuttle service running throughout the day of the event between the garage and the KCAI campus. Parking also will be available for a fee at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art garage adjacent to the Concours.
Michael Lynch, an internationally-recognized automotive author, journalist and historian with Kansas City roots, will serve as announcer for this year’s Concours. A resident of San Francisco, he has performed similar roles at events, including the Concorso Italiano, the Desert Classic Concours, the Quail Motorcycle Gathering and many more.
Organizers of this year’s event have arranged for racing legends Sir Stirling Moss, Denise McCluggage and friends and family of Kansas City racecar driver Masten Gregory, who was known as the “Kansas City Flash,” to participate in “A conversation with Sir Stirling Moss, Denise McCluggage/Remembering Masten Gregory.” The event is scheduled from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. June 22 in Irving Auditorium on the KCAI campus. Tickets can be purchased online for $25. The discussion will center on their experiences racing during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as reminiscing about their relationship with Gregory, who died in 1985.
In addition, an Exhibitor’s Reception will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. on June 22 in Epperson Auditorium in Vanderslice Hall on the KCAI campus. Anyone interested in attending can purchase tickets online for $20.
Admission to attend the Concours is $15 at the gate or $12 in advance online; children age 10 and younger are admitted free. For more information on the Art of the Car Concours®, visit www.artofthecarconcours.com. Proceeds benefit scholarships at KCAI, a premier, private, independent, four-year college of art and design whose former students include Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Morris and famed animator Walt Disney, who took Saturday classes there as a teenager.
