ABOUT PORSCHES 2 OXFORD
Porsches 2 Oxford is simply a “casual, Porsche Party”…giving attendees the opportunity to hang out in a great little uptown area with a bunch of other Porsche nuts. With its convenient location and great amenities, Oxford, Ohio offers the Porsche lover a great opportunity to visit with old friends while making new ones too. Oxford is the perfect place for a fantastic car event. With its quaint, brick streets and a great infrastructure (there to support Miami University), Oxford offers a small-town atmosphere with all the amenities of a big city. From fast food to gourmet food, Oxford offers a wide variety of places to eat. For those interested in a cooling adult beverage, Oxford has its fair share of establishments to meet any beverage need.
During the day, attendees have the opportunity to cast their ballots in the Peoples Choice car show – with awards to approximately the top 10% of registered cars. Additionally, as things wind down later Saturday afternoon, the award winners will lead the other cars out of uptown Oxford and through the rolling southwest Ohio countryside to Hueston Woods State Park – once again creating the longest line of moving Porsches in Ohio history.
On Saturday July 30, 2005, Mid-Ohio Region PCA hosted the first annual Porsches 2 Oxford event. Marketed as a ‘casual Porsche party’, P-cars of all ages and models began arriving days before the event -- from as far away as Ontario and Maine. With 140 Porsches adorning the brick streets of quaint, uptown, Oxford, it was obvious that MORPCA had picked the perfect site for a Porsche event. Traffic was prohibited in the downtown area from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. – giving us a great location to display the cars. With an adjacent bandstand serving as our event headquarters, this was a unique site that was just perfect for a casual Porsche party unlike any other. Attendees were able to enjoy a variety of shops, restaurants, and watering holes – all within easy walking distance of their cars and their friends. Before it was all over, 14 different PCA regions and eight states were well represented at the show. Attendance has since increased to over 285 registered cars with added growth forecasted.
For those staying overnight, the new Elms Hotel was literally just a few steps off the main street and offered an adjacent, secure, covered parking garage. The beautiful Miami University campus was also within easy walking distance and offered many in attendance the opportunity to ‘see what a college campus was meant to look like.’
On Saturday morning, cars started rolling into town before 8:00 a.m. – being allowed to park wherever they wanted in the downtown area. Before it was all over, we had P-cars stretching for blocks. Even though they are small cars, 140 Porsches take up a lot of space!
In 2006, P2O proved to be anything but a one-hit wonder. Registered cars increased from 140 in 2005 to approximately 225. With a 50% increase after just one opportunitity to make a lasting impression, the long-term prognosis of P2O was officially legitmized. Word of mouth has proven to be P2O's best marketing ploy as past attendees returned a second time but also brought along many Porsche friends making their first visit. After just two years, P2O went from a conceptual idea scribbled on a napkin to the fastest growing Porsche gathering in the Midwest -- and perhaps the country. In 2007, attendance increased to 258 cars despite weather forecasts that were less than ideal. The success of P2O is not the cars, but the attendees. The casual atmosphere and hometown feel make P2O inviting for all Porsche owners. Attendees park wherever they like to showcase cars among all other models and vintages; the only class is the 'Porsche' class to make everyone feel welcome no matter what they drive.
Porsches 2 Oxford owes its roots to the brainchild of MORPCA members Bill and Marylynn Roe. In 2003 and 2004, the event was known as Porsches 2 Pinckney (Michigan). After the only restaurant in Pickney closed, volunteers began looking for a new location for a 2005 event. Oxford, Ohio was chosen after months of searching throughout the tri-state area for a perfect venue with the infrastructure and charm to be a permanent home.