Attention exotic car lovers: the seventh annual Old Town Festival of Speed & Style is right around the corner.
The festival returns from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17, showcasing rare vehicles along the 400–600 blocks of King Street and the 100 blocks of North and South St. Asaph Street and North and South Pitt Street. Organizers expect attendance to top 40,000 people.
At noon, following a style celebration with live models and choice automobiles, Chief Judge Ralf Berthiez will announce the award winners across 11 categories, including the car with the most timeless elegance, the most contemporary exotic car and the car best exemplifying the spirit of the road.
“Now in our seventh year, we’re excited to welcome more cars, more people, more fun, and a greater impact for Alexandria-based charities,” festival founder Rick Myllenbeck said in a release. “If you haven’t seen a fast, exotic, wicked-cool car like a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, or Cobra up close and in person, this is the event for you.”
The festival is sponsored by Burke & Herbert Bank and has donated more than $175,000 to local charities over the past six years, including more than $35,000 last year. This year’s proceeds will benefit ALIVE!, Community Lodgings and the Breast Center Collective of Alexandria.
“This is the sixth year we have been the Title Sponsor of the Old Town Festival of Speed & Style, and we’re honored to provide manpower and funding that helps fuel the festival and their mission to sponsor this year’s charities,” said Burke & Herbert CEO David P. Boyle. “Helping to build local spirit, drawing clients to our local businesses, and helping fund local charities is part of our mission as the hometown bank of Alexandria.”
While the festival is May 17, the party starts the night before with the High-Octane Ball on Saturday, May 16, from 6-10 p.m. at Land Rover Alexandria (5900 McGuin Drive). Tickets range from $150 to $250, and the formal event features craft drinks, dinner and, for VIP guests, a whisky tasting and premium cigars.
The registration deadline to enter a car in the festival is April 30, at a cost of $125 per vehicle. Organizers are looking for luxury, visually interesting or historically significant cars from the 1950s to the 1980s — preferably Ferrari, Jaguar, Porsche, Aston Martin, Mercedes, MG, Lancia, Austin-Healey, Shelby Cobra/Mustang, Morgan, Lamborghini, BMW, Corvette, Triumph, Dodge or Maserati.
