Overland Expo West Postponed Again

Jason R. Sakurai
by Jason R. Sakurai

Overland Expo West has been postponed again, this time to September 24-26, 2021. The largest adventure travel event in the country, held in mid-May in Flagstaff, Arizona, has been pushed back to ensure the health and safety of participants, exhibitors, staff, attendees, and the community. Lodestone Events, producers of the Overland Expo event series, made the announcement last week.

“Overland Expo West is our flagship and the event that started it all. After conversations with the venue and local health officials, we collectively decided to postpone until late summer out of an abundance of caution,” said Lodestone Events Marketing VP Jessica Kirchner. “We’ll miss Flagstaff’s traditional springtime gathering. However, we are excited to safely congregate with the overland community at Fort Tuthill in September.”

Overland Expo has implemented a set of COVID-19 protocols they will adhere to​ in order to ensure the health and safety of attendees at this and their other upcoming events, including pre-entry screening, mandatory masking, touchless transactions, and social distancing. Anyone planning to attend an Overland Expo event in 2021 is encouraged to review these procedures, as they will be enforced at all events.

Founded in 2009, Overland Expo is a series for do-it-yourself adventure travel enthusiasts. Vendors of adventure travel equipment, camping gear, bikes, vehicles, and services convene at these events. Each Expo holds classes in off-road driving techniques, adventure motorcycling, inspirational programs, roundtable discussions, and demonstrations, as well as the Overland Film Festival.

Tickets and booth space for the 2021 event series will go on sale in January. Event organizers are hoping Overland Expo West will return to its traditional May date by 2022.

[Images: © 2020 J. Sakurai/TTAC]

Jason R. Sakurai
Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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  • Otozon3 Otozon3 on Dec 22, 2020

    I'm not even surprised that this year's overland expo west has been postponed again due to the pandemic. I guess we just have to look forward again for next year that the event will push through. I miss going to events like this. I was able to attend the 2017 overland expo and had a great time there. I met a lot of off-road enthusiasts. I also got some of the mod ideas for my truck there and someone recommended Toyo all-terrain tires for my rig.

  • W Conrad I'd gladly get an EV, but I can't even afford anything close to a new car right now. No doubt if EV's get more affordable more people will be buying them. It is a shame so many are stuck in their old ways with ICE vehicles. I realize EV's still have some use cases that don't work, but for many people they would work just fine with a slightly altered mindset.
  • Master Baiter There are plenty of affordable EVs--in China where they make all the batteries. Tesla is the only auto maker with a reasonably coherent strategy involving manufacturing their own cells in the United States. Tesla's problem now is I think they've run out of customers willing to put up with their goofy ergonomics to have a nice drive train.
  • Cprescott Doesn't any better in red than it did in white. Looks like an even uglier Honduh Civic 2 door with a hideous front end (and that is saying something about a Honduh).
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Nice look, but too short.
  • EBFlex Considering Ford assured us the fake lightning was profitable at under $40k, I’d imagine these new EVs will start at $20k.
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