Savannah Carlisle
  • Home
  • About
  • My Books
  • Book Reviews
  • Beach Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Coastal Home Decor
  • Writing Tips
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • My Books
Savannah Carlisle
  • Book Reviews
    • Beach Reads
    • Romance
    • RomComs
    • Thrillers
    • Women’s fiction
  • Writing Tips
  • Contact
Beach Travel

Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance – on the cheap!

Thunderbird at Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

Share

This guest post was written by Chadd Scott – otherwise known as Savannah Carlisle’s hubby.

At the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, millionaires drive six-figure cars to gawk at seven-figure cars. Those who don’t fly there in eight-figure private jets, anyway. For those with a more modest bank account, there is still plenty to enjoy (from people watching to car and jet watching) on Amelia Island during the Concours d’Elegance though!

The event, located annually on the Golf Club of Amelia Island course by the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island on the second weekend of March (it was moved to May 20-23 for 2021), offers ground passes for $100-150 each (prices vary based on when you purchase). Five hundred dollar-plus box tickets including food and beverage can be purchased.

At many of the numerous car auctions held on the Island during Concours week, you have to pay two or three hundred dollars simply to register to bid – the only way you can attend.

Concours ain’t the Nassau County Fair.

Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is held on the course at the Golf Club of Amelia Island adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island

The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance may be the finest antique car show in the world. It is unquestionably such on the East Coast. If you have any even passing interest in fine automobiles it is a must-see spectacle you owe it to yourself to attend once in your life, regardless of the cost.

Kristi and I did attend the Concours once previously – when tickets were under $100 – and probably will again, but we simply don’t appreciate cars enough to drop $200-300 every year to look at Dusenberg’s from the 1920s, Jaguars from the 1930s, and Ferrari’s, Corvette’s and Porsche’s that have turned laps at Le Mans – no matter how breathtaking they are, and they are.

How to experience the Concours d’Elegance on Amelia Island on a budget

Still, we like cars, we enjoy the spectacle, the event is held two miles from our kitchen and we’ve mastered the art of – shall we say – “Concours on the cheap.” If you want to experience Concours without attending the actual event and save some money in the process, here’s how you do it.

Savannah Carlisle and Chadd Scott at Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
Five years later, Savannah still wants this Jaguar!

What to do on Friday of Concours d’Elegance

Start your Concours weekend Friday in downtown Fernandina Beach where the Eight Flags Road Tour concludes with a public display of dozens of classic, antique and unusual cars. Meet the owners, peer under the hood, and take pictures free of charge while enjoying Fernandina’s lovely Victorian downtown.

RM Sotheby’s holds one of its most prestigious automotive auctions of the year during Concours weekend. While you don’t have to buy or bid on anything, you can look. The auction preview at the Ritz is held Friday afternoon and evening with the auction Saturday night – weather permitting. If rain is forecast for Sunday, all Concours events are pushed up.

Mercury Montclair
A Mercury Montclair being auctioned at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance

If you’ve never attended an auction before, this is a good one to start with. Dress nice – business casual at least – and act like you belong. Let the energy captivate you. Be sure to acquire an auction catalogue – generally, you can find one lying around – so you can follow along with the action, bidding estimates, and information on the lots (cars).

The Ritz-Carlton is the hub of Concours weekend and you’ll want to be sure to pay it a visit. Grab a drink in the lobby bar. Check out the vendors and their high-priced baubles set up for display in the hallways. Near the entrance to the auction are automotive-focused retailers with higher-end signs, artwork and memorabilia.

Outside the Ritz all weekend are complimentary test-drives offered by automakers like Jaguar and Alfa-Romeo.

If you find auctions to be your thing, the Omni Amelia Island Plantation features additional free auctions from Hollywood Wheels – like you see on TV. Check for specific times on Friday and Saturday afternoon.

What to do on Saturday of Concours d’Elegance

Speaking of the Omni, this resort property annually hosts the Festivals of Speed event where entry is a more manageable $20.00 general admission (it doesn’t currently appear this event will be held in 2021 with the date of the Concours moving from March to May). Festivals of Speed puts a greater emphasis on late model exotics and supercars – think Lamborghini – and while no comparison to the actual Concours, does put you nose-to-fender with an impressive selection of supercars you’d likely never otherwise see – all at a great price.

As events can change slightly year-to-year, be sure to visit the official Concours webpage as well as partner event sites for specific times.

Saturday morning opposite the “field” where the Concours is held you’ll find the free “Cars and Coffee” event running all day at the Golf Club of Amelia Island. Park for free on Fletcher Blvd. north of the Ritz and make the short walk to the course. Again, while no comparison to the actual Concours, or “Festivals of Speed” for that matter, there are always dozens of classic Porsches, Corvettes, Mustangs, Camaros and Mercedes-Benz to look at – up close – and photograph. Kristi and I attend this event every year and find it perfectly sufficient to satisfy our admittedly small craving cars.

The free Cars and Coffee event on Saturday morning of Concours d’Elegance weekend is a great event

Perhaps my favorite way to experience the spirit of Concours weekend on Amelia Island is to simply drive around that week. It’s one thing to see a Ferrari or Lambo standing still, it’s another thing entirely to see it in movement – even if it’s only moving 45-miles-per-hour in traffic. You see this, regularly, during Concours week and I get a huge kick out of it. It’s like seeing animals in the wild instead of the zoo.

Last year during Concours week, I saw both a vintage Plymouth Superbird and late-model Rolls-Royce Wraith (I think) just tooling around the Island looking for all the world like they were simply running errands – as I was. That’s awesome.

And, of course, on Sunday is the main event: the Concours d’Elegance itself!

At the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, you can spend as much money as you’d like – and you should treat yourself at least once – but you don’t have to go broke to enjoy the spectacle.

Want to find more fun things to do on Amelia Island? Check out our other posts on this area. (P.S. We actually live here!)

XOXO
signature
Amelia IslandFlorida
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance – on the cheap!

previously

Book Review: The Missing Woman by Georgina Cross
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance – on the cheap!

up next

Book Review: When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal
Welcome!

Welcome!

I write small town romance novels set in beachy locations. Stick an umbrella in your drink and go on a mental vacation with me!

signature
Read More

Recent Posts

  • Book Review: The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand
  • Book Review: Dark Corners by Megan Goldin
  • Book Review: Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen
  • Book Review: Someone Just Like You by Meredith Schorr
  • Book Review: The Block Party by Jamie Day

Categories

  • Beach Travel
  • Book Reviews
  • Bookstagram
  • Coastal Home Decor
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • My Books
  • Uncategorized
  • Writing Tips

Follow Me on Instagram

What are must-haves for you in a romance novel? # What are must-haves for you in a romance novel?
#contemporaryromance #sweetromance #smalltownromance #kissingbooks #romancebooks #amreadingromance #enemiestolovers #secondchanceromance
I traded in the beach for the mountains this month I traded in the beach for the mountains this month. ⛰️ Enjoying the cool mountain air and changing of the seasons here in Breckenridge for one more week.
Which do you prefer? Beach or mountains?
Happy #caturday! 😻 Lizzy, one of our three cat Happy #caturday! 😻
Lizzy, one of our three cats, inspired the name for one of the bookstore cats in my debut out with @harpethroad next May.
In the book, I say her name is inspired by Elizabeth Bennett, but in real life, it's taken from @tinlizzyscantina restaurant in Atlanta where hubby and I had our first date. ♥️
This week's #FridayKiss is from my debut coming ou This week's #FridayKiss is from my debut coming out with @harpethroad next May.
Logan Lancaster needs his waterfront development plan to be a success to save his career. Bookstore owner Lucy Sullivan needs to defeat him to preserve her small beach town. Little do they know they're falling in love with each other through anonymous notes in a Little Free Library. When they find out the truth, will they compromise what they thought mattered most or their chance at love?
If you liked You've Got Mail, I think you'll love Lucy and Logan's story! 💌
This week's #FridayKiss is from my debut coming ou This week's #FridayKiss is from my debut coming out with @harpethroad next May.
Logan Lancaster needs his waterfront development plan to be a success to save his career. Bookstore owner Lucy Sullivan needs to defeat him to preserve her small beach town. Little do they know they're falling in love with each other through anonymous notes in a Little Free Library. When they find out the truth, will they compromise what they thought mattered most or their chance at love?
If you liked You've Got Mail, I think you'll love Lucy and Logan's story! 💌
Load More Follow on Instagram

This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2020 Savannah Carlisle. All Rights Reserved.