BY KAREN BOSSICK
Sun Valley Tour de Force is getting revved up for a live event this coming summer.
The event, will take place July 22-24 with drivers testing how fast their cars go on Saturday, July 24, at Phantom Hill north of Ketchum.
Co-organizers Whitney Slade and Maya Blix say a lot of the details have yet to be ironed out and will depend on mandates by the Centers for Disease Control and Idaho state.
CAR SHOW
Slade and Blix are meeting with Ketchum’s police chief and the city council about holding the classic car show in downtown Ketchum Friday, July 23. Currently, the state restricts public gatherings to 50, but it’s hoped that number will be raised by summer.
PEDAL TO THE METAL
The tour has a waitlist of drivers who want to enter their cars in the high-speed runs. Those interested in joining the list should contact Blix at maya@sunvalleytourdeforce.com
All drivers who have carried over their runs from 2020’s cancelled event have until April 1, 2021, to confirm and pay for their runs in full or they will be forfeited to drivers on the waitlist.
The Tour will not officially host spectators on Phantom Hill this year. But anyone is allowed to hike, bike or picnic in the area provided they’re a safe distance from the road.
BENEFICIARY
A portion of the sponsorship fees, high-speed runs and donations made at Cars & Comedy will go to The Hunger Coalition, which is feeding three times the amount of people it was helping before the pandemic.
Slade said sponsors have been coming out of the woodwork for the 2021 event, and the tour is on the cusp of announcing some “very cool partnerships.”
“We are grateful to be hosting an event this summer, especially when many other local events have needed to cancel or change course,” she added.