A Festival with Heart

Doing good and having fun go hand in hand at Destination Defender. The weekend event gathers Land Rover owners and enthusiasts to celebrate the Defender’s legacy as the vehicle of choice for people who help others.

The best way to honor this legacy? Help more people. That’s exactly what happens at the festival’s centerpiece, on the evening of November 12, when Land Rover announces the winners of the Defender Service Awards. The program rewards five nonprofit organizations for going above and beyond to help their communities; each nonprofit gets a Defender 130 and $25,000 in cash to support their efforts. Outside will be there, too, as the sponsor of the Environmental and Conservation category.

Exceptional food, live music, and special guests will make the ceremony a night to remember, and before and after the show, it’s all adventure. Set at beautiful Oz Farm in the Hudson Valley, the full weekend delivers a climbing-biking-slacklining bonanza, along with cooking lessons, photography classes, local vendors, camping and glamping options, and more. It’s the complete Defender lifestyle, bell to bell.

The lineup includes adventure chef Ashley Rodriguez, host of Kitchen Unnecessary, a show about cooking wild foods in wild places. Max Nichols, a photographer who has captured the outdoors from Joshua Tree to Namibia, gives tips on getting the shot in any conditions. Or you can try slacklining between two Defenders.

There will be plenty of fun to go around, but no one will be happier than the winners of the Defender Service Awards. These nonprofits do critical work in five categories: Search and Rescue, Environmental and Conservation, Veterans Outreach, Community Service, and Animal Welfare. With their new Defender 130 and $25,000 prize money, the winning organizations will be equipped to be more effective at their core mission—helping others.  

“The Land Rover Defender is an iconic vehicle recognized globally for much-loved design and extraordinary capability. Since its redesign, Defender has created a strong following from a new group of enthusiasts and owners,” said Joe Eberhardt, president and CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America. “We’ve created Destination Defender to celebrate the Defender lifestyle with our owners and enthusiasts and honor those who give back through our Defender Service Awards.”

Join the fun: Destination Defender is November 12–13, 2022, at Oz Farm, Saugerties, New York.

Camping and glamping options are available on-site, and other lodging options are nearby.

Founded in 1948, Land Rover designs and engineers its vehicles in the United Kingdom. For over 70 years the brand has built a reputation for providing its clientele with some of the most luxurious and capable vehicles in the world; whether driving through the heart of the city or traversing the countryside on- and off-road. Today’s Land Rover lineup includes the Defender; Discovery and Discovery Sport; Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar and Range Rover Evoque. Land Rover is fully engaged with sustainability initiatives and social concerns with continuous involvement in environmental and community programs. For more information, visit the official Land Rover website at landroverusa.com.