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© Corey Miller Photo
Photographer Corey Miller in front of a 1978 British Leyland Mini at an earlier show.
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© Corey Miller Photo
Pictured is a 1960’s Jaguar XKE.
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Pictured is a 1964 Morris Mini. Pickup converted by Angus Fire Armour LTD.
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The proceeds from the Williamsburg British & European Car Show event benefit The Arc of Greater Williamsburg which provides services for adults with developmental disabilities.
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© Corey Miller Photo
Pictured is an aerial view of an earlier car show.
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Pictured is a 1960s VW Beetle.
There are cars, and then there are European cars. For the members of the Williamsburg British Car Club—who are, of course, enthusiastic about European cars—this April will be their time to shine when they host their 22nd car show.
The British & European Car Show began putting on its annual car show a year after the club formed in 1999. The show has grown over the years, drawing people from across the country, said club president Jim Meyers.
This year on April 23rd, the show is expecting about 150 cars—everything from MGs to BMWs—at the Shops on High Street in Williamsburg. Every car show spotlights a certain type, or marque, of car. This year, the club will pay homage to the marques of Queen Elizabeth II, who is celebrating her 70th year as the British monarch.
That means the show will highlight cars that fit into two categories: the “Royal Business”—cars that the queen rides in for official business (the Rolls-Royce, Daimler and Bentley) and the “Royal Toys”—the ones the royals have in their personal fleet (the Range Rover, Aston Martin and Jaguar).
Car enthusiasts often use the word marque, which is what car brands were originally called in the automo-tive industry. For this car show, it’s Queen Elizabeth, really, who is the honored marque, Meyers said.
More than just a car show, the event also serves a few other purposes. First, it’s a way to give back to the community, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. For the past four years, the club’s chosen charity has been The Arc of Greater Williamsburg, which provides services for adults with developmental disabilities.
Pam McGregor, The Arc’s executive director, said the car show has raised almost $10,000 for the organization. Even in 2020, when the car show was cancelled because of COVID, many early registrants chose to donate their entry fees to The Arc.
“Just a great friendship has really been forged between the members of this car club and The Arc,” McGregor said. “They’ve truly stayed with us and it’s helped with some of our needs,” such as the organization’s Wheels4Work employment program.
The car show’s other purpose is to help showcase Williamsburg, Meyers said. In 2020, the club used photos of a Morgan—its honored marque for that year—parked in front of the Governor’s Palace in its marketing materials. This year, the club got permission from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation to take photos with cars at Historic Jamestowne and in Yorktown.
“It’s fairly well known [among car clubs] what we do and why we do it,” Meyers said. “You couple that with the fact the show is in Williamsburg and it brings people in. We’re in Williamsburg—why not advertise Williamsburg?”
Registration for the car show will take place online and on the day of the event. There will be about 20 categories of cars, with various awards such as best in class given out.
And while the day is sure to be a car enthusiast’s dream, it’s a family event. Any member of the community is invited to come and learn a little bit about these special cars. It’s not unusual for a car club member to let an adoring child sit behind the wheel for a photo.
“It’s open to everyone to come take a look, and talk to the people who own them,” said Meyers, a retired NASA engineer from Newport News who owns six cars himself, including a rare BMW S60 and a Lotus that goes 0-60 in 4 seconds.
“It’s a great event,” Meyers said. “People just like cars. They really do.”