Easter Concours d’Elegance

2025 Annual Concours d’Elegance Show

We are proud to announce our 62nd Annual Show

Easter Sunday- April 20th, 2025 - Forest Park- St. Louis, MO

Easter Concours d'Elegance Photo's

History

WHAT ABOUT AN EASTER EVENT?

What was the first Easter event involving vintage autos in the greater St. Louis area?  It was an auto parade held by the Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri (HCCM) on April 18, 1954, and eventually led to the Easter Concours d' Elegance. The Auto Club of St. Louis (AAA) building was the anchor location. The parade-motorcade traveled west on Lindell to Skinker, south on Skinker to Clayton Road, and west on Clayton to Big Bend before disbanding.  Why a parade?  The general public was not yet attuned to attending an outdoor show of old cars.  So a series of special displays and outdoor activities were held with very old cars setting the pace.

In 1961 the time was right for the Easter Concours d’Elegance. It was the direct  beneficiary of other show efforts. On Sept. 17, 1961, seven months prior to the first Easter Show, the first Village Square Concours was held as a "test" in the outdoor walking mall at the then-popular shopping center in Hazelwood, Mo.  Based on the success of that show, the first Easter Concours d’Elegance Show was held on April 22, 1962 with only six classes. The oldest winning car was a 1897 Holdermann and the newest winner was a 1939 Cadillac Convertible Sedan.

By 1964 the Easter Show was firmly established and was hosted by AAA which proved to be a significnt and faithfull sponsor over following years.  Eventually the Easter Concours d’Elegance was held in Forest Park as a reminder of the first St. Louis Auto Show of 1907, which was promoted by a festive display of then-new cars in this park.

The Easter Concours is the Place to Be!

By Gerald Perschbacher, LL.D.

In recent years, the Concours event has involved up to 500 cars of collector vintage (25 years old and older) bringing a season-opening festive flair to the Upper Muny Opera parking facility in Forest Park in St. Louis, on Easter Sunday.  Crowds have been conservatively estimated between 10,000 to 20,000 as young and old enjoyed the vast array of automotive machinery from 1903 to cars that are a mere 25 years old.  It's practically a community affair with informative commentary, displays, special food, chats with car owners, and educational "talks" that carry additional benefits for visitors. 

A dazzling array of rare, outstanding, special-made and seldom seen vintage cars fill spaces and delight visitors at this judged trophy event.  There is no charge for the viewing public.  Each show is unique and marvelous with surprises abounding.  Examples:  Classic Packards, Cadillacs, special-ordered Rolls-Royces, even Maxwell, Dodge, Auburn, Marmon, Willys-Overland, Lincoln, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, quaint Model T Fords, plus powerful cars with V-12 and  V-16 engines, even early 2-cylinder power, outstanding Corvettes, T-Birds, and unique sports cars, hard-to-find early VWs, European brands, and rare survivors such as Studebaker, Hudson, Kaiser, plus cars made exclusively in St. Louis (perhaps Moon, Simplo, Gardner, Success, the St. Louis, etc.).  Light trucks, even brands like Federal, Dorris, and International have appeared.  The combination of brands is never quite the same, making each show surprising, unique, and nicely unpredictable in makes and models, sizes and colors!

Authenticity and condition are chief factors at the show, since it is a reflection of actual history.  So a visit to the Concours each year is a dazzling and surprising walk through auto history, great for young families and the young-at-heart.  FYI, there often are massive military vehicles on exhibit, also.  Or if you delight in recalling vehicles from the very recent past, a variety is expected ftom the 1970s and 1980s up to vehicles 25 years old.

Military vehicles have been registered in the past, such as a 1942 Ford GPW “Jeep.”  Other cars seldom seen have included LaSalle, Citroen, Frazer, lively Corvettes and high-performance cars. The event is a MUST SEE for onlookers of advanced of automotive design.

The HCCM's Easter Concours d' Elegance is an annual salute to the historical automotive advances on local, national, and international levels, displayed in the granduer of historic Forest Park.