Oregon Festival of Cars

Oregon Festival of Cars Started 25 years ago as the Sunriver Exotic Car Show, this has become a must-do annual event for an increasing number of car enthusiasts.

Over 100 enthusiast cars are expected to participate in this fantastic event. During its 25-year history, this event has developed a unique atmosphere of being relaxed and fun with participants being able to get to know other like-minded enthusiasts. Every element of the Festival is geared toward fun and designed to keep competitive energies in check, allowing just enough to make things interesting but still safe and enjoyable.

06/22/2024

Summer’s here and the time is right to register for the 2024 Oregon Festival of Cars!

Once again, the Festival is a must-do ending for the driving season. We revel in the joy of cars that are fun to own and drive, and we enjoy the company of their owners. The focus is always on having a good time.

Visit www.oregonefestivalofcars.com to register and get more details on the weekend's festivities.

06/06/2023

Sherry Lamoreaux

06/06/2023

It took some time to work out details, but we’re ready to go now and registration is officially open. As always, the weekend promises to be a must-do for automotive enthusiasts. We revel in the joy of cars that are fun to own and drive, and we enjoy the company of their owners. The focus is always on having a good time.

EVENT DETAILS: Please visit www.oregonfestivalofcars.com/schedule.php for all the details.

ACCOMMODATIONS: The Residence Inn/Bend is once again our host hotel and is offering us special Festival pricing. Our room block is limited, so call right away (541-382-5001), tell them you’re with the Festival, and get the deals while they last. Reservation deadline is August 15, or until the rooms are all gone.

REGISTRATION: Visit www.msreg.com/OFOC2023 for our online registration page. Motorsport Reg now requires everyone to have a user name and password. If you find this too awkward to navigate, you can download the registration form from our website (www.oregonfestivalofcars.com/registration.php) and fax (503-246-8478) it in, or just call Barbara Grayson at 503-246-8477 and she will get you registered.

QUESTIONS? Contact Barbara Grayson at 503-246-8477 or email [email protected]

06/14/2022

This year's full event is Friday, September 16 through Sunday, September 18, with the car show on Saturday, September 17. Registration for the Oregon Festival of Cars is officially open at OregonFestivalofCars.com. Please log in and register – we really look forward to having you join the event.

We were totally surprised by the troubles we would encounter in the post-COVID-lockdown era. It is simply unbelievable how many events are being scheduled for this year, and Bend is going to busier than we could imagine this September.

Our Festival venue, The Deschutes Historical Museum, has been great to work with. However, finding a caterer for the Saturday evening Festival Banquet was close to impossible. Every caterer we contacted was either already booked up or, get this, no longer works on weekends. How could that be? Fortunately, we were just rescued by the Oxford Suites Hotel, which was happy to accommodate us in their banquet room.

So, here’s the schedule:

Friday starts again at Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo in Wilsonville for a group drive to Bend. The host hotel is once again the Residence Inn (more on that below), where we will have the traditional Beer Wash. Registration will be in the Residence Inn bar area. We are welcome to monopolize the no-host bar. Dinner is on your own.

Saturday features the Festival car show at the Deschutes Historical Museum, with event-perfect jazz music by the Dan Balmer Trio. The Saturday Banquet will be at the Oxford Suites Hotel in downtown Bend.

Sunday is the traditional Sunday Dash, once again organized by German Master Tech. The Festival ends with a group lunch at a location yet to be determined.

Now here’s the rush:

Bend hotels are extremely busy, and they have all raised their rates. We have a modest-sized room block at the Residence Inn, with rooms available at the super attractive rate of $259 per night. But once our block is sold, the rate will be higher, and we have no idea what the availability will be. You better hurry and get your room reserved by contacting the Residence Inn at (541) 382-5001, and be sure to mention the Festival to get the group rate.

Please join us

Click here to link to Motorsportreg.com and our online registration page. If Motorsport Reg is too awkward to navigate (or you are late in registering), you can download the registration form from our website and fax it in, or just call Barbara Grayson at (503) 246-8477 and she will get you registered.

John Draneas and Keith Martin
09/18/2021

John Draneas and Keith Martin

09/07/2021

We’re getting down to the wire on the Festival. It’s going to be a great one. We’re sitting at right around 80 cars for the show, and we haven’t even hit the last minute rush yet. Our participants, organizing team and sponsors are all real excited about it. If you haven’t registered yet, better get on it — registration ends tonight at midnight!

So even with all the excitement and good news, we still have this COVID thing to be careful about. After a lot of waiting to see what happens, talking and thinking about it, this is what we came up with...

The Festival is an outdoor event, so we are allowed to have it. Although we probably have enough space to maintain proper social distancing at all times, it isn’t all that easy to do and there may be points where people get too close together. So we are going to take the careful approach and require masks to be worn at all times during the show itself.

The Saturday evening banquet is indoors, and we are nearing the capacity of the room. Because of that, we think the best thing to do is to limit it to vaccinated people only. If you have already registered but aren’t vaccinated, contact Barbara Grayson and we will process a refund for the banquet. The Sunday Dash lunch will be outdoors, so it fits within our current state rules. These are definitely difficult times, and we appreciate everyone’s flexibility and understanding.

http://oregonfestivalofcars.com/registration.php

08/19/2021

About all we can say is that COVID has everything confused. We are now back to wearing facemasks while indoors, but nothing is shut down. We can’t really predict what the situation will be at Festival time, so we are considering all options.

The Festival car show is outdoors, so we don’t expect any issues with that part of the weekend.

Since the Saturday banquet is indoors, we will consider all reasonable options. Depending upon what happens in the next few weeks, we may limit the number of attendees to maintain appropriate social distancing, limit attendees to vaccinated people, or even cancel it if that is the best course. If you are registered and any of the ultimate restrictions prevent your attendance, we will refund your registration fee if you cancel within a specified time.

The Sunday Dash lunch is also going to be indoors, so the same possibilities apply.

We recognize that you may be reluctant to attend the Festival due to these uncertainties. We are working on extending the cancellation deadline for full refunds, and will update you when we have that. So don’t hesitate to register.

Meanwhile, we have strong registrations, and it looks like it will be another great Festival. The organizing group is confident that everything will work out, so stay loose!

Room Update: As we told you last time, our Residence Inn room block sold out some time ago and we obtained another room block at the Waypoint Inn. That room block is being held only through Monday, August 23, so if you need a room, better jump on it!

Waypoint Inn: waypointhotel.com • (541) 382-7011 • [email protected] • 1415 NE 3rd St, Bend, OR 97701

Please join us! Click here for our registration information: http://oregonfestivalofcars.com/registration.php

07/23/2021

ROOMS ARE SCARCE IN BEND

As we said last time, things are popping in Bend right now. Our room block at the Residence Inn, which was 20% larger than last time, is all sold out. Even worse, the entire hotel is full.

Barbara got into crisis mode and managed to score an additional room block at the Waypoint Inn. The Waypoint Inn is the former Red Lion on Highway 97. The new owners have been putting a lot of money and effort into remodeling it, and it now has a very nice lobby and outdoor patio area. Most of the generously-sized rooms have been remodeled, and they are working their way through all of them. The staff is very nice and they are totally excited to have us.

If you’re coming to the Festival but don’t have a room yet, you better hurry up and find something, as time is not on your side. The Waypoint Inn has extended special room rates for Festival participants, so mention the Festival when you call.

Waypoint Inn: waypointhotel.com • (541) 382-7011 • [email protected] • 1415 NE 3rd St, Bend, OR 97701

Register today! http://www.msreg.com/ofoc2021

05/21/2021

We’ve had to navigate many twists and turns – those are a lot more fun in our cars! – but we finally got to the point of going live with registration.

Click here to link to (http://www.msreg.com/ofoc2021) and our online registration page. If Motorsport Reg is too awkward to navigate, you can print and mail/fax your registration form from our website (http://oregonfestivalofcars.com/registration.php), or just call Barbara Grayson at (503) 246-8477 and she will get you registered.

Here is the current schedule:

Friday, September 17

• Meet at Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo for coffee and light trip nourishment, then join the group headed to Bend. It will be the usual fun drive, but we aren’t sure yet what lunch arrangements will be possible. Routemaster Brian Cone will think of something.
• Clean your car at the Festival Beer Wash at our host hotel, The Residence Inn, provided by our friends Griot’s Garage and Neil D’Autremont’s Sidedraught City.
• Check in at the Residence Inn.

Saturday, September 18

• Festival Day! The Festival Car Show will once again be held at the Deschutes Historic Museum. It’s the usual Festival atmosphere, with the jazz sounds of our Festival Band, the Dan Balmer Trio. A simple wash and wax will do, no need to get out the Q-Tips.
• Big news – The Festival Banquet is back at our favorite venue, Kendall’s Porsche of Bend (in the former Club Carrera facility). We’ll start with a cocktail hour, move into a delicious catered dinner, and finish with the usual not-ready-for-prime-time presentation. It always surprises!

Sunday, September 19

• Wrap up the weekend with the ever-enjoyable Festival Sunday Dash, a 2-hour-or-so romp through the beautiful Central Oregon woods and countryside, ending with a great lunch at a spot chosen by our Sunday Dash Routemaster, Tim Morris.
Lodging

We have a room block reserved at our host hotel, The Residence Inn, with special Festival room rates. Call them at 541-382-5001 and mention the Oregon Festival of Cars to get great pricing and free parking. Rooms will go quick and the release date is August 1, so don't delay.

COVID

We don’t know what our COVID protocols are going to be, but all indications are that the state will be fully re-opened by September. But whatever the situation may be, we will comply with all state requirements.

Please join us. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to get out in our cars for a weekend getaway, and many of our favorite car events have been cancelled or dramatically restricted. We are expecting a strong turnout for the best car enthusiast weekend event in the Northwest, so get registered quick!

04/13/2021

THE FESTIVAL IS BACK!
It’s been a long, strange year. But now, things are looking up, and car events are popping back up on our calendars.

So mark your calendar for the 2021 Oregon Festival of Cars on September 17-19. Same place and format as before, but since the last Festival seems like ancient history, we’ll remind you.

The Festival location is the Deschutes Historical Museum in Bend, Oregon. You remember, the really nice lawn area with the big trees and the wonderful museum two blocks from Downtown Bend. The Dan Balmer Trio will be back to provide the perfect musical accompaniment for the beautiful cars on the field.

For those of us on the west side of the Cascades, the weekend will start Friday morning at Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo. We’ll gather there for a group drive over to Bend. No details yet, but we’ll be sure to make it an interesting drive.

Friday evening registration/check-in will be at our host hotel, the Residence Inn.

We are planning to have the Saturday evening Festival Banquet at the Residence Inn. But, as you would expect, we can’t be certain today that we will be legally able to do that. Updates will come as we get closer.

The Festival will wrap up with the traditional Sunday Dash, our usual nice romp through the woods to a socially-distanced outdoor lunch spot.

Registration will be open in a couple of weeks, and we’ll give you notice when it opens. But for now, get the Festival on your calendar! And get your oil changed and start cleaning that car.

06/06/2020

We waited as long as we could, but we have to pull the plug on the 2020 Oregon Festival of Cars.

These are unprecedented times for all of us, and we have been hopeful that the COVID-19 pandemic would get under control quickly. While our country is starting to return from its hibernation, there are still just too many uncertainties surrounding our future.

Deschutes County was slated to go into Phase 2 of the re-opening plan, but that was delayed the other day. That means we won’t know if we will be able to host a public gathering as large as the Festival.

Banquets remain problematic. We don’t know if we would be able to do the Friday night welcome party, the Saturday banquet, or even the Sunday Dash lunch.

Without a clear path to a successful Festival, the only good option is to wait for next year.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2021 Oregon Festival of Cars.

September 17-19, 2021. Put it on your calendar!

03/17/2020

These are definitely very challenging times. The Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic is real and personal, events are getting cancelled right and left, and everyone is suffering though a major disruption in their lives. We hope you stay safe.

We’ve been thinking about what to do about the 2020 Oregon Festival of Cars. September seems like a long way off, and things may have run their course well before then. If that’s how it goes, then we will probably all be looking forward to a fun car show in September.

But we can’t know if that is how it will play out. Things could get worse and take a longer time to improve. If that’s how it goes, then we won’t have a Festival in the end.

After consulting with several of our sponsors and suppliers, we’ve decided the best course for the Festival is to just wait and see what happens. We think we can wait until May 15 before making a final decision and still get everything organized in time if it turns out we are good to go. The Deschutes Historical Museum and the Residence Inn are both good with that, so there is no need to make a rush decision.

So save the date for now — September 18-20, 2020. We will let you know as soon as we can if it’s a go or a no-go.

Address

Bend, OR

Opening Hours

10am - 3pm

Telephone

(503) 246-8477

Website

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