The 2025 Ponte Vedra Auto Show is once again being presented by Art ‘n Motion, the classic car dealership in downtown St. Augustine.
Art ‘n Motion took over the show from the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce five years ago amid the COVID-19 pandemic and was, in fact, one of the first big outdoor events held here after things began to reopen. The show did provide masks and sanitizer for anyone who wanted it.
This being an opportunity for people to get out of their homes at last, the show attracted thousands of people – so many that Art ‘n Motion co-owner Justin Felker thought: Oh, man, what have I gotten into?
They parked all over Nocatee and walked to Station Field to see the 215 cars exhibited there.
In the years since, the show has attracted thousands annually, with people coming from as far away as Gainesville, Ocala, Savannah and Brunswick. Exhibitors have driven their classic vehicles from as far away as Palm Beach.
“I was always surprised when people said they had come from 75-, 90-miles away,” Felker said.
Some people have even attended while vacationing here.
In its 22-year history, the show has overcome its share of challenges, and COVID was by no means the biggest.
Hurricanes
Hundreds of vehicles have made appearances at the show, representing nearly every era, style and manufacturer. Its location has occasionally changed, as has the time of year it’s been held. Sponsors and presenters have come and gone. Special focuses and classifications have been added and later discontinued.
The St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce launched the show in 2003 when it was held in the Sawgrass Village shopping center parking lot. It was held in April during each of those initial years.
In 2011, it was relocated to the lawn at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse. And a year later, it was moved from April to September.
In 2016, the show was relocated again, this time to Nocatee Town Center Field near Publix.
Then, it encountered its first big challenge: Hurricane Irma in 2017. Organizers were forced to reschedule the show from Sept. 10 to Sept. 24. Still, it attracted about 3,500 people.
In 2018, it was relocated again, this time to Nocatee Station Field, where it has been ever since.
The following year, another major storm threatened: Hurricane Dorian. Though Northeast Florida was ultimately spared, organizers were taking no chances and rescheduled the show from Sept. 15 to Sept. 22.
One of the first things Art ‘n Motion did after acquiring the show was to move it from September to November, greatly reducing the chance of ever having to dodge another storm.
New Owner
Art ‘n Motion opened in 2018 at 283 San Marco Ave., the site of the former Yarbrough Olds Cadillac Nissan dealership.
A completely new building was constructed, inspired by the kinds of brick buildings that housed car dealerships in the early 1900s. The historic recreation is so convincing that visitors sometimes ask Felker just how old the building is.
The architect, Anthony Harwell of Palatka, subsequently won an award for masonry design from the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects.
Art ‘n Motion deals in classic car sales, and nearly everything is available for purchase, but Felker does keep some privately owned vehicles there, as well. Felker has a dealer license for that business.
In addition, Scott Lagasse Racing is a long-term lease partner, and Erin Murphy – Felker’s sister – hosts events there in association with her own business, House of Assembly Events.
Art ‘n Motion has turned out to be the perfect operator for the Ponte Vedra Auto Show, and how that came about was something of a coincidence.
“From the day we opened, we talked about doing our own car show for publicity and just to be involved with the community,” Felker said. “Then, the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce contacted me and said, ‘Hey, you know, we run the Ponte Vedra Auto Show’” – which I was familiar with; I’d been in it multiple times – “and they said, ‘We want to pass it on to somebody else.’”
So, the business took over the show and watched it grow over the years.
“The feedback is always really positive,” Felker said. “People say it is one of the better local events.”
