Celebrate Father's Day at the Custom and Hot Rod Festival

Custom Bikes at Beaulieu

Custom Car

1961 Allard Dragster

There is less than two weeks to go until Father’s Day, so if you are still looking for an exciting way to celebrate with Dad, why not treat him to a fantastic family day out at Beaulieu’s Custom & Hot Rod Festival on Sunday 15 June. This popular event, in association with Victory Wheelers, the South Coast’s leading Custom, American and Hot Rod club, features colourful displays with hundreds of custom cars and motorcycles, live music and entertainment, as well as all the features of the Beaulieu attraction.

Anyone owning a Hot Rod, Custom or Classic American car or motorcycle can drive to Beaulieu and display their vehicle alongside hundreds of others in the beautiful grounds of the National Motor Museum.

Take advantage of the advance discount rates for both visitor and participant tickets, available until 5pm on Saturday 14 June at www.beaulieushop.co.uk

Back by popular demand, rockabilly band, Ace Trio, will be returning to the Festival to entertain visitors with live sets on the Beaulieu Arena throughout the afternoon and the much-loved Mariachi Band will be serenading visitors as they stroll around the parkland. Singing duo, The Diamonds, will also be belting out swing and rock’n’roll numbers in various pop-up locations.

Admire some of the quirky and unusual artwork that can only be found on the colourful custom scene, enjoy free rides on the fairground dodgems* and browse trade stands selling clothing, Americana memorabilia, merchandise and accessories.

In another exciting feature, the Ratcatcher Resurrection slingshot dragster and the National Motor Museum’s 1961 Allard Chrysler dragster will be on display at the Festival and will be firing up twice during the day to demonstrate their engine power. The Allard, Europe’s first dragster, was the focus of a five year restoration project by the Allard Chrysler Action Group (ACAG). In celebration of the project’s completion, ACAG officially handed back the dragster to the museum at last year’s Festival.

Visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite vehicle in the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Willydog Hotdogs, with the winner receiving a special trophy in an afternoon prize-giving ceremony. Prizes will also be awarded in four other categories – Best Custom, Best American, Best Hot Rod and Best Bike – and Victory Wheelers will be presenting their ‘Big Al’ award to one of their members.

Beaulieu is also offering Festival-goers the chance to win a prize in a special Custom & Hot Rod Festival photography competition. To enter, email your favourite photograph from the Festival to photo@beaulieu.co.uk by the 17 June. A shortlist of photos will then be added to the Beaulieu Facebook page and the owner of the photo with the most ‘likes’ by midday on 25 June will win a family ticket to the Beaulieu Fireworks event on 1 November 2014. For full terms and conditions, visit www.beaulieu.co.uk/photo-competition

Admission to the Festival includes entry to the whole Beaulieu attraction, which features the National Motor Museum with two new displays for 2014 – For Britain & For The Hell Of It and The Motorcycle Story, the updated World of Top Gear exhibition, Beaulieu Abbey, Palace House, grounds and gardens, plus unlimited rides on the high-level monorail and open-topped veteran London bus.

The show opens to the public on Sunday from 10am, with entry at 8am for those participating in the event with custom vehicles.

All-inclusive advance event admission tickets (for both visitors and participants) are available to buy at an advance discount rate until 5pm on 14 June, online at www.beaulieushop.co.uk or on Ticket Hotline 01590 612888.

On the day ticket prices for participants with Custom vehicles are £10 per adult and £5 per child**. On the day ticket prices for visitors are priced at normal on the day Beaulieu attraction admission rates.

Whether you are bringing a custom car or not, you are welcome to join Beaulieu for the whole weekend, to enjoy camping on the Friday and Saturday nights, live music and entertainment. Those with custom cars can also enjoy the Saturday Cruise Out. Weekend tickets can be booked at an advance discount rate online by submitting a booking form, available to download from www.beaulieucustomfestival.co.uk, by the 12 June.

For more information about the Custom and Hot Rod Festival, visit www.beaulieucustomfestival.co.uk or join the conversation with @Beaulieu_Hants on Twitter using #customfestival