Expecting nearly 500 German sports cars, Porsches 2 Oxford organizers are putting last-minute touches on one of the largest Porsche traditions in the country. The July 25th show started from humble beginnings, but this year’s event marks the fifth anniversary and attendees have been promised an even better time than last year. Fans began snatching up hotel reservations nine months in advance. With just a week left, attendees are filling their gas tanks and polishing hoods, while event organizers make final arrangements for one of the Tri-State’s most anticipated automotive celebrations.
“This year’s event has been 14 months of planning,” said P2O Media and Publicity Director Chris Rieman. “We literally started before last year’s show got off the ground knowing this was going to be a watershed year for us. The progress and enthusiasm in five short years has been unmatched by any other Porsche event in the country. Fortunately, P2O organizers were smart enough early on to let past attendees provide the best sales job. Organizers can talk up P2O, but it means something when a fellow Porsche owner says it first.”
“We make it a point to ensure the event is the best bargain of the summer,” Rieman said. “The fewer excuses we leave on the table to stay home, the more incentive Porsche owners have to grab their keys and make the drive to Oxford. Because of our generous sponsors, we leverage each dollar to ensure all of it funnels back to the attendees in the form of complimentary items and gifts.”
Dubbed “a casual Porsche party”, P2O organizers host attendees in the rural college town of uptown Oxford, Ohio. Located 30 miles north of Cincinnati along the Ohio-Indiana border, the event kicks off on Friday July 24th with friendly gatherings at local watering holes, showcases the vast number of Porsches in uptown Oxford all day Saturday, and concludes on Sunday with a road rally. The Saturday event is free to the public. The Mid-Ohio Region Porsche Club of America serves as host.
Although the casual fun alongside expensive German sports cars headlines the event, P2O brings Porsche enthusiasts together to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. The event’s underlying charity for the past two years, the ACS has a special connection that organizers draw inspiration from.
“MaryLynn Roe co-founded the event in Michigan in 2003 and saw the move to Oxford in 2005, but her courageous battle with cancer was her greatest legacy,” Rieman said. “She passed away from cancer in 2006 but her spirit and vision remain a central rallying point for this event. The ACS is our way of paying it forward.”
Organizers started a new tradition in 2009 to do just that, selling prime parking spots for $100 each to benefit the local chapter of the ACS. All 40 spaces were sold in the first seven days of registration. Five dollars from general registrations also benefit the charity while 50/50 drawings throughout the afternoon complete the fundraising.
“We’re hoping to raise $10,000 when it’s all said and done,” Rieman said.
Porsches 2 Oxford began as Porsches 2 Pinckney (MI) in 2003 as 85 cars took part in the first-year event. The event moved to Oxford in 2005 and entertained a modest 140 cars. Attendance increased to 225 cars in 2006 and 255 cars in 2007. A record 396 Porsches made their way to Oxford on July 26, 2008 for the fourth annual event. The college town with brick-lined streets and quaint storefronts hosted attendees from 17 states and three Canadian provinces.
For more information on 2009’s fifth anniversary event, please visit www.porsches2oxford.com.
