Celebration Exotic Car Festival-2009

Saturday

April

Sunday

April

The 6th Annual Celebration Exotic Car Festival to benefit Make-A-Wish will be held April 16-19, 2009, and will be hosted by television and film star Gilbert Gottfried, hailed as “the funniest man in the US” by Entertainment Weekly. The four day event promises to be bigger and better than ever, with new activities and even more unique, exotic, and race cars- as well as famous and movie and television cars- to be displayed. The festival, which is organized by a small team of volunteers of Celebration and other local residents, has established itself as one of the largest of its kind in the country, and is also one of the leading fundraisers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida. Nearly $500,000 has been donated to Make-A-Wish since the events inception in 2004, granting the wishes of local children with life threatening medical conditions. The weekend will start on Thursday, April 16th, in Sebring, when many of the cars will be stretching their legs at the historic Sebring Raceway, home of the annual 24 Hours of Sebring race. The 3.7 mile, 17 turn circuit is one of the most challenging and technical in the world, and nearly 100 exotic cars, some exceeding 1000hp, will be running at full speed and testing the abilities of the cars as well as the drivers. On Friday afternoon, owners of Ferrari Challenge racecars will also compete in the first annual Make-A-Wish Challenge Race. The festivities continue with the Jetport Food & Wine Festival on Friday April 17th. A private jet hanger at Signature Aviation at Kissimmee Airport will be converted into a chic, South Beach style nightclub for one of the most incredible parties of the year. Hosted by Les Chefs de France, guests will be treated to unlimited champagne, fine wines and spirits, and sumptuous cuisine at more than 20 chef stations. The evening will feature an exclusive fashion show, a stunt spectacular starring James Bond 007 stunt double David Lyons, an air show, performance art, silent charity auction, and much, much more. More than 100 exotic cars, business jets and personal aircraft will also be on display. Tickets for this must-attend event are available for $100 at www.celebrationexoticcars.com The concours will take place on Saturday, April 19, with 250 exotic cars lined up along the picturesque boardwalk of Celebration. The world-class show was attended by an estimated 40,000 spectators in 2008. Cars from Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Bugatti, McLaren, Lotus, Saleen, Spyker, Pantera, Aston Martin, Bentley, DeLorean and many others will be displayed. Special features at this years event will include a very rare showing of the Barris Collection of the most famous television cars in history, including the original Batmobile, Monkee Mobile, and the Munster Mobile. Several movie cars will also be on hand, including the Lamborghini Countach driven by Adrienne Barbeau in the 1981 film “Cannonball Run,” the Lamborghini Diablo from the Jim Carrey film “Dumb and Dumber,” a customized Shelby GT500 “Eleanor” as used in the film “Gone in 60 Seconds,” and the original KITT from “Knight Rider,” now owned by former ‘N Sync star Joey Fatone. The show will also feature Luke Skywalker’s Land Speeder from the original “Star Wars” film as well as an appearance by many of the Star Wars characters. The famous “Back to the Future” DeLorean, a huge crowd pleaser in 2008, will also return again and be available for photo opportunities. Saturday night the annual Festival Party fundraiser will be held at a private venue in Sea World. The evening will include a five star dinner and open bar, and a live auction with items including a trip to Los Angels for a private tour of Jay Leno’s garage, VIP Tickets to Dancing With the Stars, VIP tickets to the Finale of American Idol, a week at an exclusive Aspen chalet, and a week at a beach home in Seaside, Florida with private air transportation and use of a Ferrari for the entire week. Guests will be treated to the comedy of Gilbert Gottfried, then dance the night away with the “the ultimate party band,” Prime Time, from New York. The event will conclude with a competitive rally, departing Celebration on Sunday morning for the 100+ mile course. The rally will include paced laps around the Disney/Petty Speedway. Tickets for the event, details about the weekend, as well as a highlight video and photo gallery from 2008 can be found at www.celebrationexoticcars.com