The Recap & ExcitementOverland Expo East 2017
BILTMORE ESTATE
ASHEVILLE, NC
SEPT 29–OCT 1, 2017
Event Statistics
- 170 registered exhibitors, including showcase vehicles and authors
- 190 classes, seminars, demos, activities, slideshows, and films; totaling 430 session-hours of instruction
- 85 presenters, instructors, and VIPs
- 30 staff & 110 volunteers
- 5,500+ attendees from around the world (total # on site)
- 525 Overland Experience package attendees
- Attendees came from as far away as Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, India, Mexico, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Peru, Thailand, and the UK
- Most U.S. states were represented; in highest attendance was Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee; others came across the country from California and Washington, as well as Canadians from Ontario and Quebec
Event Highlights
- Record numbers for the entire show; nearly doubled general attendance.
- Weather in Asheville was fantastic all weekend long.
- Friday night, we celebrated the first Change Your World Fund 'Class of 2017' and hosted a successful fundraiser raffle drawing.
- Also on Friday, the first Overland Expo Chef competition—hosted by Metal-tech 4x4—drew in crowds to see who would win over the judge's taste buds.
- Motorcycle attendance was in full swing this year as was the popular Saturday night dinner and prize party hosted by ADVMoto Magazine.
Photo & Video Highlights
Video Gallery
What People Are Saying
From Exhibitors:
"... a big thank you to you and your team for an awesome Overland Expo East 2017! The weekend was very well organized, incredibly insightful and a great opportunity to meet many different travelers, enthusiasts, and personalties of the Overland world. I was lucky enough to attend the Cool Ride party as a competitor on Wednesday and was also an instructor over the weekend. I got a lot of good feedback from my classes (hopefully you did too!) and enjoyed the ones that I was able to sit in on as well. Looking forward to the next expo."
~ Mike Ladden, Drive the Globe
From Attendees:
"Thanks so much for putting the Overland Expo together. Many of my friends recommended the event to me after I started some amateur camping and off-roading and I recently attended Overland Expo East in Asheville. I grew up in the suburbs and missed out on plenty of outdoor-related things when I was a child. Both of my parents worked and my father wasn't one of those "handyman" or "outdoorsy" types, so I didn't learn as many of the things as I wanted to. Your event helped me feel more self-reliant and gave me plenty of skills that I can pass on to my kids that make them more self-reliant, too. The classes themselves were great. There was plenty of variety and almost all of the instructors were top notch. I learned a ton from the classes about tire patching, left-footed braking, and vehicle recovery. I'm also working towards a Ham radio license after attending a class about radios. All of the folks from 7P were especially good. They taught us plenty and kept us laughing/horrified with their anecdotes from the trail. :)
Thanks again for all of that effort. The event truly changed my life and gave me the confidence I need to go out and learn more!"
~ Major Hayden
"We love the Expo and the Biltmore venue. I should mention I have used stuff I picked up at Expo East 2016 in the field, when our team is activated , it’s all big trucks, winches, knots, recoveries, boats, chain saws, first aid, etc. So I really hope we are back in time!"
~ Jantzen Blackmon
"As a perpetual learner, I have a lot of experience with a multitude of course curriculums, trainers, delivery techniques, and ultimately experiences related to the courses - be it motorcycle related or otherwise. I love learning. I love improving and trying to best myself. My experience with the training at Overland Expo was fun and informative. The course was well designed and executed. What I was most impressed with was the flexibility in the curriculum to entertain and assist the more advanced riders in the group while simultaneously benefiting those who were just starting out in the sport. I feel the only way to do this is to have top-notch instructors, a good plan, and a lot of preparation. As a professional instructor myself, I admire the team at Overland Expo for their attention to detail and I truly look forward to attending many courses with them in the future."
~ Blair Harris
Featured Media Coverage
ARTICLES AND ONLINE PUBLICATIONS
- Driving Line, 7 Must Haves
- Gear Junkie
- Gear Junkie, Exciting New Gear
- Gear Junkie, Adventure Vehicles
BLOGS AND EXPEDITION WEBSITES
- Been There, Doing That, Stuck and 50 Miles...
- Been There, Doing That, What We Did at...
- Character Club, Rigs | Charactors
- Drive the Globe
- Hooniverse
- Knapp's Over, Part 1:Journey, 2:Equipment, & 3:People
- Ural Motorcycles
- Work, Play, Care
FORUMS
PHOTO GALLERIES
- Been There, Doing That via Adobe Spark
- Blue Ridge Built, recap and staff pics
- Jack Walter, Solaros
PODCASTS
VIDEOS & VLOGS
- by Colton Andre
- Jason Koertge, Ep47: Winching Class Teaches us how to NOT DIE in a Recovery
- Jason Koertge, Ep48: Getting STUCK on the Technical Driving Course at Overland Expo East
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
- Facebook: #overlandexpo
- Instagram: #overlandexpoeast2017
- Twitter: #overlandexpo
- Dogs of Overland Expo (FB Group)
FROM INSTAGRAM:
- overlandexpo From the entire Overland Expo staff, we want to thank everyone for making Overland Expo 2017 EAST our best EAST show yet!
- getlostbox Thank you for an amazing event! We are looking forward to coming back next year!
- theoverlandinggoat Thank you for putting on the event. As a first time attendee we had a blast and loved seeing everything. We will be back and who knows maybe we make the trek out West!
- adventuremotorskc We had such an incredible time! You really put on the absolute best event for this community. We had an excellent time and looking forward to being an exhibitor again next year!
- thegarageshopsp Awesome event. Great people lots of new friends. Thank you ????????
- 07blackspecv It was a great first EXPO for my wife and I. Will be back for sure. Thank you to all the EXPO staff, volunteers, and Biltmore employees!
- hedrickben We too had a GREAT time!!! Looking forward to 2018 already!!! Thank you!! Two thumbs up @overlandexpo !!!
- hotfjcruisergirls Camped this year was great !!
- aluminess Thanks for an awesome expo...we loved the venue...super event!
- 4runnermods Agree! Super awesome turnout this year. Beautiful weather and great people. Always a pleasure being part of this movement.
- jmulinaro13 Can't wait to go again next year!
- do.jo.bo ????????
- ssf556 Car camping at its finest!
- affinity_overland Well done! Had a great time!
- doug.sage Wonderful time and I can hardly wait for 2018!
- milesvw So much fun! We'll definitely be back
- javimm58 Glad to have y'all back here in my home city and work place. Excellent turnout and had a wonderful time. Hope to see you again next year.
- kqphotoworks It was a great show! I can't wait for next year!
- modocmike Thank you as well and to all of the great volunteers that made it smooth for us @fourwheelcampers
- ivingwildpics As brits we've been in SouthAmerica now for 3years with our 4-wheel on a Toyota Hilux. Our project is to make conservation films for NGOs and our latest one is 'Tango in the Wind' with 10K views on Vimeo. One day we would love to visit these expos.
- 950_junkie It was my 2nd EXPO and totally loved it even more . My 8 year old daughter had fun as eell.
- roverentals Thanks for all the hard work!
- mcrae.lisa It was wonderful!
- yotamafia Awesome turnout! Thanks for putting on a great event!
- expeditionwire Awesome venue! Can't wait to cross the US again in 2018
- aerton1 First time, my Brother Al and I had a blast. Will be back next year with the family. Awesome event, well done, thank you!
- overlandexpeditionrv Enjoyed it thoroughly!
FROM FACEBOOK
Regarding Women’s Vehicle Marshalling Skills class:
- Candice Geouge Hellyar Great class, terrific instructors!! ❤ Loved that you have sessions just for us gals. More please for 2018 West and East!
General praise:
- Dave Roberts This was the best year I have attended by far. It has been the highlight event of 2017 for me!
- Jeremy Arnold Awesome event! Great instructors and vendors!
- Just British It was a blast, thanks for the good time!
- Gerard Erit Had full intentions of attending but think the flu got me. Hopefully see you next year
- Candice Geouge Hellyar What a terrific event, we cannot wait for West!
- Scott Simpkins Awesome event! I will be back!
- Mark Badgerow Thanks for having us