Watkins Glen Corvette Festival

Watkins Glen Corvette Festival Celebrating Corvette's 70th Year May 20th & 21st 2023

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Saturday May 20th 2023 – 10 am to 5 pm – Corvette Car Show

May 20th 2023 – 6 pm – The Legacy of Harley J Earl – Keynote Address – Richard Earl

Sunday May 21st 2023 – 10 am to Noon – Drive the Historic Glen Circuit & Watkins Glen International

2023 marks the 70th anniversary of the Corvette – originally designed and engineered by Harley Earl – inspired by attending races in 1951 at the Glen. In 1953 the first Corvette appeared at the races in Watkins Glen and 2023 marks 70 years of Corvettes as the “American Sportscar”. The Village of Watkins Glen’s Parks, Recreation, and Events Department is sponsoring the “Watkins Glen Corvette Festival” celebrating the legacy of Harley Earl at Clute Park.

The festival starts on Saturday May 20th with Corvette owners arriving at Clute Park and lining the 5-foot Trailway that surrounds the Seneca Lake Events Center. Drivers are asked to be in position by 9:30 am for the 10 am to 5 pm car exhibit. Visitors will be charged to park at Clute Park and will be allowed to walk through all of the cars that are on display until 5 pm. Food trucks and other corvette themed vendors will be located throughout the Park.  At 5 pm participants are released and eligible to leave Clute Park.

6 pm Richard Earl is presenting a key-note address within the Events Center – looking at the history and legacy of his grandfather Harley Earl. The 1-hour presentation will be a seated and videoed event around this original inspiration, development and anniversary of the initial Corvette from 1953, with emphasis on the General Motors Corvette engineer Richard Earl. Historic images and video will be presented to attendees for this catered “lite bite” event. Questions will be answered around the longevity and support of the Corvette.

On Sunday May 21st – car owners are encouraged to drive the Historic Glen Circuit lead by the Schuyler County Sheriff’s Office from a 10 am to noon event. Cars will start from Clute Park and will then motor down Fourth Street to the closed County Office Buildings at 10 am. They will remain in cars until 10:30 when the original circuit will begin. Visitors will line Franklin and Fourth Streets of this original course and can watch the lap. After the lap, owners will then be led to Watkins Glen International to drive on the speedway, before ending the Corvette Festival. At 10:00 am Tony Vickio under the supervision of the Sheriff’s Car will guide Corvette participants down Franklin Street to the start/finish line in front of the Schuyler County Office building. This is between 9th and 10th Street to 4th and Franklin. At 10:30 am the guided Original Glen Circuit will run a lap that spectators can watch before the participants are escorted to Watkins Glen International Speedway for the final leg of “driving the new track”.

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