Photo by Seb [ P34K ] Hamel on Unsplash
loading...

Photo by Seb [ P34K ] Hamel on Unsplash[/caption]I don't know why, but this year, the Woodward Dream Cruise just kind of snuck up on me. This annual event that sprouted organically in Motown has become a major event. The main day-long event this year happens on Saturday, August 20th.

WKMI logo
Get our free mobile app

The first Dream Cruise was a desire by organizer to recreate the heyday of car cruising, maybe not quite to the level of what was show on History Channel's "The Cars that Made America", but it was some of those kids, now grown up who never lost their love for America's greatest generation of cars. And, did you know the first one, in 1995, was a fund-raiser for a soccer field in Ferndale?

Apparently that first year really struck a chord, as organizers hoped for maybe 25,000 to show up to show off their classics, or to watch, but instead some 250,000 showed up, and a legend was born.

A Chevy billboard at the Woodward Dream Cruise, in the early years. The words read "Remember when your cup holder sat next to you and wore a poodle skirt?" (Dave Benson, TSM)
A Chevy billboard at the Woodward Dream Cruise, in the early years. The words read "Remember when your cup holder sat next to you and wore a poodle skirt?" (Dave Benson, TSM)
loading...

The best guess is, now, the Dream Cruise draws somewhere around and million and half people and some 40,000 classic cars, though as happened in Battle Creek, some people think their three year old car is a classic, and that ruins it for everyone.

As the day goes on, parking on the side streets along Woodward is at a premium. Bring a comfortable pair of shoes, or a comfortable lawn chair and prepare to 'ooh and ahh'. With everyone having a camera, there will plenty of photo ops with all these cars.

Quincy, Michigan, Historic Car Show 2019

Classic car show, Quincy, Michigan 2019

Gilmore Car Museum Winter Wonderland 2021, just outside Kalamazoo, Michigan

The first ever Winter Wonderland at the Gilmore Car Museum, near Kalamazoo, in Hickory Corners, Michigan, is a drive-thru and walk-through nighttime holiday lights experience on the Gilmore Car Museum 90-acre campus. Christmas 2021, Holidays 2021

HOT ROD Drag Week at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan

Highlights of the 2016 Hot Rod Drag Week events.

More From WKMI