Tanglewood is best known as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the rustic former estate in the Berkshire hills where music-lovers have been gathering to hear classical music since 1936. This year, it will be the venue for a new show: the Tanglewood British Motorcar Festival, scheduled for June 17-19 – that’s this Father’s Day weekend.
The new festival is being organized by the same folks who put on the popular British Invasion in Stowe, Vermont, every fall. Like the Invasion, the new show will celebrate not only British cars, but all aspects of British culture.
The festival begins on Friday evening, when a Paul Revere lookalike on horseback rides through downtown Lenox, Massachusetts, proclaiming that “the British are coming.” Behind him will be members of the renowned Shakespeare & Co. theater, also located in Lenox, and a line of approximately 200 British cars. The town of Lenox will throw a party of its own on Friday night, with the Rolling Stones tribute band Satisfaction performing, and shops and restaurants staying open late.
On Saturday, the cars and motorcycles will take to the lawn, displayed in no less than 44 classes. Mike Kittredge, known as the creator of Yankee Candle (currently with Kringle Candle, which he and his son, Mike Kittredge III, founded in 2009), will be honored as the British Motoring Enthusiast of the Year, and will have 20 cars from his collection on display. Miller Motorcars of Greenwich, Connecticut, will display two new Aston Martins, as well as a Rolls-Royce Ghost and a Bentley Mulsanne; the new Museum of Springfield History in Springfield, Massachusetts, will show its replica of the Duryea.
Sunday brings a variety of participatory events, including a Competition of Colors and a Tailgate Picnic competition. There are driving tours on all three days, too.
General admission is $15 for both days, or $10 for Sunday only. Registration for the people’s choice show is $55 per vehicle, or $65 for the judged concours d’elegance. I and at least a couple of other Hemmings editors will be there, so if you should spot one of us, stop and say hello.