Concours d'Elegance has grown in 20 years to become one of the premier automotive events in Southern California. Founded by a British-born gent with a passion for cars and for helping the community, Bart P. McGrath started Concours d'Elegance when he realized a need to fund the Children's Wing of the library where Concours has been held for approximately 2 decades. It's very first event began in 1986 and was staged on the beautifully lawns of Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach, California, on the slopes of the hill and valley below Huntington Beach Public Library and Cultural Center.

When McGrath's asked automobile aficionados if they would like to participate in a competition car show in Huntington Beach, the positive reception for the idea was overwhelming. The field entrants would include best domestic, British, European, Asian and vintage to current automobiles and motorcycles. Vintage and racing bicycles and motorcycles were added later as Concours d'Elegance grew.

McGrath's success in putting on one of the best car events on the West Coast, perhaps, was in design. He decided to veer from the traditional approach of allowing only the elite marques. He envisioned an all inclusive event that would feature automobile collector cars loved and cherished and also very popular with the public. His event included all a most car manufacturers products and highlights a specific type of car each year. His formula proved successful as the event has grown throughout time with hundreds of classic and collector cars attending.

Judging is not performed under the traditional guidelines of Concours titled events, either. In traditional Concours style shows, class entries include automobiles driven less than 1,000 miles per year and a street class for cars driven on a regular basis.

Featured cars have included many new marques. Since 1989, the event has produced themes and subtitled the event many years, calling it "The Year of...". Here is a quick run down of the featured cars by year: 2004 - Porsche, 2003 - Corvette, 2002 - Ford Thunderbirds, 2001 - The Cobra, 2000 - MG, 1997 - Mercedes Benz, 1990 - Corvette, 1989 - Porsche. Also featured throughout the years have been Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and more.

The event is operated by non-paid volunteers to raise money for library operations. $15,000 - 20,000 is raised in a single day and has provided books, supplies and upgrades to the children's section of the Huntington Beach Public Library, helping keep it's status as one of the best children's libraries on the West Coast.

Full calendar of events is location on HUNTINGTONBEACHEVENTS.COM