Barber Vintage Festival
The 17th Barber Vintage Festival dates are October 7-9, 2022!
07Oct
Barber Vintage Festival Grand Marshal
We are honored to announce Mary McGee as the Grand Marshal for the 16th Annual Barber Vintage Festival, October 8-10, 2021. AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Mary McGee is one of the most pioneering motorcyclists in history. She not only broke barriers for women riders, but for all riders. Her accomplishments are many and have impacted the sport in numerous ways.
Born in1936 in Juneau, Alaska, she later lived in Iowa and then Arizona. She met her husband, Don, who was an expert mechanic and introduced her to car and motorcycle racing. In 1957, she began racing cars with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Through a series of fortunate introductions, she was offered a variety of cars to race, and consistently won her races. Instantly recognizable in her pink polka-dot helmet, she raced sports cars by Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche, AC, Corvette, Elva, Jaguar, and Lotus, winning races at tracks in Arizona, California, and Texas. Mary always described herself as “fast on my feet, fast with my brain, self-conscious and lacking confidence,” however she had “no trouble with confidence on the racetrack.”
The first woman to hold an FIM racing license, Mary McGee learned to ride motorcycles in 1957 on a 200cc Triumph Tiger Cub, and later took up motorcycle road racing to try to improve her car-racing skills. McGee began road racing motorcycles in 1960, becoming the first woman in the US after passing an audition on a 125 Honda CB92, wearing a pink polka-dot helmet. This was just one of many firsts she has accomplished. A January 1962 Motor Trend article started with “Housewives revolt!” and ended with “So ladies, if your life is dull and you are bored with freeway traffic, don’t give up. Buy a motorcycle and join Mary McGee.”
Mary was the first woman to finish the Baja 1000 (and the first and only woman to ride the Baja 500 solo which was one of her most memorable accomplishments as she finished ahead of several two-man teams). She was encouraged to try this by Steve McQueen and says this is the hardest thing she did in her life.
She was the first woman to Roadrace and then first to race Motocross in the United States beginning in 1963 when she switched to dirt riding and rode her 1962 250cc Honda Scrambler in an AMA District 37 enduro. Although popular in Europe, motocross had not yet made its way to the United States, and in February 1967, she was the first woman to race motocross in the States including the first motocross races at Carlsbad and Saddleback, and numerous west-coast tracks.
In 1970, the McGees moved to Idaho and opened a small Husqvarna dealership. Two years later, she became the Husky District Manager for seven western states, all the while racing motocross in Idaho, Washington, and Nevada, and escalating her involvement in the Baja. Also in the 1970s, McGee worked for Motorcyclist magazine and joined a 24-hour endurance road race in Las Vegas, in which the magazine’s team changed riders every hour on a 650cc Suzuki.
Mary has served as an ambassador for motorcycling, whether as a pioneering female competitor or through her speaking engagements that encourage women to try motorcycling and racing. “I would like to see more women — and more younger women — get involved. It’s not whether you finish first, second or last. It’s the struggle to finish. It is the journey of your life, I never experienced any backlash being a female on a motorcycle, or maybe I just never noticed.” McGee is quoted as saying.
In 2011, she got her Motorcycle Street license at age 75. In 2018, Mary was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame. Mary will serve as Grand Marshal for the Barber Vintage Festival and as the Honored guest at Motorcycles by Moonlight .
We are honored to have her as our Grand Marshal for the 2021 Barber Vintage Festival. She joins past guests, John Surtees, Denis Manning, Cook Neilson, Kevin Schwantz, Paul Smart, Gene Romero, Pierre Terblanche, Miguel Galluzi, Erik Buell, Colin Edwards, Wes Cooley, Colin Seeley, John Penton, and the 9 Britten Motorcycles.
The 16th Barber Vintage Festival is October 8-10, 2021. There will be a Vintage Swap Meet, AHRMA racing, Fan Zone, VJMC motorcycle shows, demo rides and much more. Tickets are on sale now at www.barberracingevents.com
Connect With Us
So Museum selfie day continues here at the BarberVintage Motorsports Museum. #barbervintagemotorsportsmuseum #bvmm #museumselfieday #museumselfieday2022 #weloveourjobs #picturesdontdoitjustice #inbirmingham
It’s Museum Selfie Day #museumselfieday …. So please be sure to tag us in your photos today or repost a selfie from your last visit. (These are a few of our past favorites)
#barbervintagemotorsportsmuseum #bvmm #inbirmingham #waynecarini #museumselfieday2022 #paulsr #selfies #luckybarber9
Michael Swann in the house today working his magic on Hondamonium. #pinstriping #michaelswann #barberrestorations #bvmm #inbirmingham
Happy 28 years to our #82 Chuck Huneycutt! Enjoy your anniversary and thanks for everything you do….here’s to 28 more😊#chuckhuneycutt #bvmm #28years #prettydarncool #photobynealebayley
The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum offers badge programs for the Boy Scouts of America Engineering Merit Badge –
The Museum offers a program to fulfill the requirements of the Boy Scouts of America Engineering Merit Badge. This program is on the move from start to finish and includes a hands-on Build-a-Bike activity, a tour of the largest motorcycle collection in the world, and a short film. Please note: Scouts must read the Engineering Merit Badge book before the day of the program to complete the badge.
Pricing: $18 per scout. Troop leaders and parents do not need to reserve a spot.
2022 Dates:
February 12, 2022
March 26, 2022
May 7, 2022
July 23, 2022
August 6, 2022
November 12, 2022
To show troop pride and demonstrate participation as a scout, we ask that scouts wear their uniforms.
Link to register for any of the dates
Available on our Facebook page or website (barbermuseum.org)
Cancellations must be made at least 7 days prior to the event date in order to receive a 100% refund. If you need to cancel your registration, please contact us at 205-699-7275.
Contact us at education@barbermuseum.org or 205-702-8729.
#bsa #boyscoutsofamerica #engineeringbadge #bvmm #inbirmingham
Yes we are open today!
Come and visit us on MLK Day 10-5
#museummondays #bvmm #motorcyles #picturesdontdoitjustice #inbirmingham
Volunteer Opportunities
Training Opportunities for New and Existing Volunteers
We are preparing for a full roster of motorsports events, as well as education programs, in 2022 and as always, we would love to have you come take part as a volunteer! We have many volunteer opportunities throughout the year and we will be discussing those during these training sessions.
January 26th at 10:00am we will have a training session for anyone interested in assisting with our Education Programs and Field Trips. These field trips typically take place Monday-Friday from approximately 9:30am-12:30pm. We offer learning experiences for students of all ages that include a brief tour through several exhibits of the museum, classroom learning and a hands on activity that incorporates the learning that has taken place throughout the day. Volunteers wishing to assist with our field trip program are encouraged to attend the training to get an overview of what a typical field trip entails.
January 29th at 10:00am we will have a training session for anyone interested in becoming a volunteer in all areas of the museum. We utilize the help of our amazing volunteers during our large racing event weekends, as docents to give tours of the museum, to assist with the maintenance and cleaning of the collection, during private corporate events, and even for administrative tasks from time to time. We couldn't accomplish our goals without the support of our volunteers and we would encourage you to come out to this orientation session to see if volunteering is a fit for you!
WE ARE SAVING A SEAT FOR YOU!
See our Facebook page or website to sign up or call 205/702-8736
#volunteering #bvmm #museumvisit
Museum Seminar: 1966 Triumph Daytona Victory
January 17, 2022 - 6:30pm Central Standard Time
Please join us at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum for our first seminar of the new year on Monday, January 17th. Museum doors will open at 6:00pm and the seminar will begin at 6:30pm in our theater. In an effort to continue providing a safe environment for our guests, we are going to limit the seating to 29 guests for seminars until further notice.
The topic of this seminar will be the story of the restoration of #H44112. Barber Museum's Executive Director, Jeff Ray, will take you on the journey through the find, research and restoration of this very special bike that now resides here at the museum. This Triumph is one of the 5 special "works" racers, built under the supervision of Race Engineer, Doug Hele, sent to the United States by Triumph's Experimental Department.
This seminar is free for museum members and volunteers and $10 for non-members. Please register early as participation is limited. The seminar will be available to view online through your membership account following the event.
If you are unable to attend in person, but would like to submit a question on this topic to be answered during the seminar, please submit those in writing to membership@barbermuseum.org.
If you have any questions, please call 205-702-8736.