Vintage Lincolns, a 1963 Studebaker Avanti and dozens of other classics lined the grounds of Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage this past weekend for the 38th annual Casual Concours charity car show, a Modernism Week tradition that this year doubled as a nod to Route 66 hitting the century mark. The event, presented by Great Autos, leaned into a “Swinging 60s on Route 66” theme that put 1960s-era cruisers front and center while celebrating the historic highway's 100th anniversary.
The show ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and organizers framed it as both a style showcase and a fundraiser, according to Modernism Week. Tickets ran $30 per person, with children under 8 admitted free, and the organization says proceeds from the show benefit The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert and Safe Schools Desert Cities, two nonprofits that serve people throughout the Coachella Valley, as NBC Palm Springs reported.
A Showroom Floor Spanning Decades
A writer for Hollywood Times who attended estimated about 150 autos, noting there were simply too many to cover individually. The cars covered generations from the 1920s to the present. Visitors could wander freely among the vintage vehicles and take in their design details up close, per NBC Palm Springs.
Among the standouts documented at the show were a 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III and the aforementioned 1963 Studebaker Avanti, both highlighted by Hollywood Times, which noted the event tied directly into the broader Modernism Week calendar at Mission Hills Country Club. The mix of makes and model years gave attendees a rolling timeline of American automotive design well beyond the show's 1960s theme.
The Mother Road Turns 100
The Mother Road Turns 100 The Route 66 tie-in isn't just local flavor — 2026 marks the highway's centennial year nationwide. Route 66 stretches across eight states from Chicago to Santa Monica, according to Visit California. Although the highway was officially decommissioned in the 1980s, much of its original path can still be traced today.
The 30th Annual Gilmore Heritage Auto Show is scheduled for June 6. The City of Needles has its own celebration planned with a car show, food trucks and a beer garden at Santa Fe Park, according to route66centennial.org. On the same day as the Rancho Mirage show, Azusa held its 78th Annual Golden Days Parade, folding in Route 66's centennial alongside marching bands, cheerleading squads and a lineup of Chevrolet low-riders and vintage Fords, as the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported. Azusa's weeklong celebration also included a Route 66-themed 5K and a chalk festival dubbed “Chalkin' the Mother Road.”
A Charity Fixture During Modernism Week
The 38th annual Casual Concours was part of the Modernism Week calendar. This year's Route 66 framing gave the show a reason to lean harder into mid-century style, matching the desert's broader Modernism Week aesthetic while raising money for local LGBTQ and youth-safety programs.
Back in Rancho Mirage, the Casual Concours offered its own small piece of that national moment, with a lineup of vintage iron standing in for a century of road-trip history on a country club lawn.
