Car, motorcycle and military vehicle enthusiasts – get revved up for the ninth annual Gila River Resorts & Casinos Concours in the Hills, a free, family-friendly event that benefits Phoenix Children's, in Fountain Hills.
The Feb. 4 show is presented by Matson Money and is organized by sections for domestics, imports, race cars, limited-edition exotics, off-road and motorcycles. There will also be a helicopter display including military attack helicopters.
The show is heavily supported by leading car clubs and dealers including Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Porsche, Corvette, Mustang, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and others. The value of vehicles is many hundreds of millions, with several individual cars worth over $10 million.
This free community event started in 2014 with 220 cars and 3,000 spectators. The 2022 event featured 1,200 cars, 100 sponsor booths and an estimated 50,000 spectators, smashing all previous records.
All proceeds from the event go to Phoenix Children's.
“This year is shaping up to be an incredibly exciting year as the details fall into place for Concourse in the Hills,” said Concours in the Hills Founder Peter Volny. “Since its inception in 2014, Concours in the Hills has set multiple records for the number of cars on display, number of sponsors, number of spectators and total funds raised for Phoenix Children’s. Since 2018, the show has raised over $900,000 for Phoenix Children’s. The 2022 show alone raised $460,000 for the Center for Heart Care.”
Besides the record-breaking cars in attendance, this year is even more special, as Volny is handing the Concours in the Hills keys to Phoenix Children’s after running the event for nine years. Phoenix Children’s will take the wheel along with help from volunteer leaders in their PCH50 auxiliary group.
Volny spent his career building a thriving advertising business around promoting the automobile industry and nine years ago, fueled by his passion for speed and exotic cars, started Concours in the Hills to make a difference in the lives of children. A childhood cancer survivor himself, Volny has donated all proceeds from the event in his mission to help patients and families.
“I’m not a doctor – I can’t do anything about that. But what I can do: I originally committed to raising $500,000 over five years to build a playroom… a place that they can go to, play with toys, forget all their troubles for a couple hours,” said Volny back in 2019. “We surpassed that amount in just a few years and are now well over $1,000,000, so I guess $2 million is the next goal.”
Volny will continue to be involved with this spectacular event, a premier auto show that draws car enthusiasts from across the country. The show is heavily supported by most of the leading car clubs and dealers.
“Concours in the Hills surpassed every dream I could have had for it, and I know I am leaving it in good hands with Phoenix Children’s,” Volny said. “I want this event to remain strictly a charity event, as I intended from the beginning.”
To aid in this transition, Dr. Kris Birkeland, a member of PCH50, will be stepping in to take some of the reins from Volny during this annual event. The group, also known as “The Fifty,” has a mission to harness the energy, enthusiasm and experience of 50 driven community leaders as the next generation of supporters of Phoenix Children’s.
“The PCH50’s mission is to serve Phoenix Children’s with the three pillars of fundraising, volunteer efforts and awareness building,” Birkeland said. “The scope, size and success of Concours in The Hills allows our members to further that mission with a well-established event and work to continue growing it well into the future."
Event admission and parking is free to spectators. The exhibitor entry fee is a minimum $75 donation for vehicles and $40 for motorcycles. Additional donations are welcomed. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 at Fountain Park, 12925 N. Saguaro Blvd. in Fountain Hills.
For more information about Concours in the Hills, visit phoenixchildrensfoundation.org/signature/concours/.
