Classic car owners will roll onto the grounds of the Deering Estate in Palmetto Bay on Sunday, November 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for the 14th Annual Vintage Auto Show, featuring vintage automobiles from 1965 and earlier parked across the historic waterfront property. Admission runs $14 for adults and $7 for children ages 4 to 14 if purchased online by November 13 at 11:59 p.m., rising to $18 and $10 respectively starting November 14, with children under four admitted free.
The show is presented by the Deering Estate in partnership with the Antique Automotive Club of America – South Florida Region, according to Miami's Community Newspapers. This year's centerpiece is a 1950 International Harvester L-110 truck originally purchased brand new in Chicago by Marion Deering McCormick, daughter of estate founder Charles Deering, and maintained by the McCormick family after her 1965 death before eventually being donated to the Deering Estate Foundation.
That truck's lineage ties directly back to the estate's industrial roots. Charles Deering became the first chairman of the International Harvester Company in 1902, after his family's Deering Harvester Company merged with the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and three smaller agricultural manufacturers, per Wikipedia. International Harvester made trucks, tractors, and farm machinery.
Entry Rules Keep the Lineup Strictly Vintage
Vehicles entered through the Antique Automotive Club of America South Florida Region must date to 1965 or earlier and appear in original or restored condition, per the South Florida Region AACA. Every displayed car is required to carry a fire extinguisher and a cardboard drip guard, and the club's rules give priority to older vintage models while still permitting International Harvester vehicles of any model year, the club notes.
Participating owners enter the estate grounds at 9:15 a.m. and must have their vehicles parked by 10 a.m., with no cars allowed to leave before 3 p.m. for safety reasons, the AACA South Florida Region states. Exhibitors must preregister, with entry for the vehicle owner and one guest.
Activities Beyond the Car Lineup
Guests can take part in a vintage automobile scavenger hunt using photo clues to identify selected displayed cars, along with children's hands-on crafts inspired by the event, with limited supplies, and outdoor lawn games running throughout the day. Visitors may also bring blankets, lawn chairs, and small picnic baskets to enjoy on the grounds.
Nature preserve tours are offered at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m., allocated first-come, first-served, with sign-ups required the day of the event — even for Deering Estate Foundation members. Historic house tours, including a guided walk through Richmond Cottage, follow the same first-come, first-served sign-up rules, though the estate's historic house museums themselves will be closed and inaccessible during the show.
Inside Richmond Cottage, visitors can catch screenings of the documentary *On This Land: The Charles Deering Estate*, written by Becky Roper Matkov and produced by Carl Kesser, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. The estate's artist village also gives attendees a chance to meet artists-in-residence and browse their work, while self-guided nature trails, a mangrove boardwalk, and the free iNaturalist mobile app let guests identify local flora and fauna on their own.
Discounted Access for Young Attendees
Teens and young adults ages 13 to 22 can purchase $5 admission tickets through Culture Shock Miami, a program of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, and that discount extends to a second $5 companion ticket for a guest of any age, according to Culture Shock Miami. Peterson's Harley-Davidson South serves as the official corporate sponsor for this year's show, Miami's Community Newspapers reports.
The Deering Estate has over 450 acres of natural areas along Biscayne Bay. The state owns the estate, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today the grounds are managed by the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department and designated one of seven Miami-Dade County Heritage Parks, preserving eight native South Florida ecosystems including globally endangered pine rocklands, mangrove forests, and coastal tropical hardwood hammock, according to Visit Florida.
The Deering Estate at 16701 SW 72 Ave. in Miami continues to operate as both a house museum and an active ecological field station, with limited tickets for the November show required to be purchased or reserved online in advance.
