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About the Team

The Story of Drive Festival

Drive Festival’s inaugural event took place September 10-12, 2021, with over 17,000 people attending! As a result, we were the largest automotive event in Canada in 2021.

Our attendees and exhibitors loved the new dynamic and interactive approach of Drive Festival, never seen at this scale in Canada. Seeing the world’s rarest and most exciting cars driven on our Dream Car Speed Run and experiencing manufacturer test drives on one of our three test tracks. Over 2,500 test drives happened during our inaugural weekend!

While Drive Festival’s inaugural launch was terrific, 2022 was bigger and better! We are working on more manufacturers, cars and interactive experiences for our third-year event.

Thank you to our supporters as we look forward to this September!

The Drive Festival Team

The Story of Drive Festival

Drive Festival’s inaugural event took place September 10-12, 2021, with over 17,000 people attending! As a result, we were the largest automotive event in Canada in 2021.

Our attendees and exhibitors loved the new dynamic and interactive approach of Drive Festival, never seen at this scale in Canada. Seeing the world’s rarest and most exciting cars driven on our Dream Car Speed Run and experiencing manufacturer test drives on one of our three test tracks. Over 2,500 test drives happened during our inaugural weekend!

While Drive Festival’s inaugural launch was terrific, we are excited to produce a bigger and better version in 2022. We are working on more manufacturers, cars and interactive experiences for this second-year event.

Thank you to our supporters as we look forward to this September!

The Drive Festival Team

 

About National Event Management

Exclusively in the Event Business since 1983, National Event Management (NEM) based in Markham, Ontario has created and produced over 500 consumer events. NEM currently produces 37 events per year, hosting over 4,000 exhibitors and over 200,000 attendees annually in markets across North America. National Event has created and produced more successful and enduring consumer events than any other company in North America over the last 20 years. www.nationalevent.com

adam-ruppel

Adam Ruppel

CO-FOUNDER, EVENT MANAGER

As the Co-founder of the Mud Hero – Canada’s largest obstacle race, with 60,000 participants annually and founder of North America’s largest 24-hour mountain bike event, the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice — Adam Ruppel has over 22 years of experience organizing, promoting and overseeing massive events. Drive Festival is the result of Adam’s success at event production and his passion for cars. Not only is Adam a long-time Porsche owner, but he’s a performance driving instructor who has also driven in Targa Newfoundland.
Email Adam

Fred Cox

CO-FOUNDER, CEO

Fred is President of National Event Management, which has created and produced over 500 consumer events over the past 35 years. National Event currently organizes 37 annual consumer events across North America in a variety of industries, which host over 4,000 exhibitors and attract over 200,000 attendees annually. Fred leads a team of over 30 full-time staff that are experts at creating, selling, promoting and executing successful events. National Event Management has established more successful and enduring events than any other company in North America over the last 20 years. Fred Cox is a former Board member of the Canadian Association for Exposition Management, and has built his business on the principals of integrity, loyal relationships and creating exciting and impactful events for exhibitors and attendees.
Email Fred
fred-cox
fred-cox

Fred Cox

CO-FOUNDER, CEO

Fred is President of National Event Management, which has created and produced over 500 consumer events over the past 35 years. National Event currently organizes 37 annual consumer events across North America in a variety of industries, which host over 4,000 exhibitors and attract over 200,000 attendees annually. Fred leads a team of over 30 full-time staff that are experts at creating, selling, promoting and executing successful events. National Event Management has established more successful and enduring events than any other company in North America over the last 20 years. Fred Cox is a former Board member of the Canadian Association for Exposition Management, and has built his business on the principals of integrity, loyal relationships and creating exciting and impactful events for exhibitors and attendees.
Email Fred

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