Our New Festival Location

While the MVVC has been proud to hold our Vintage Volkswagen Festival at the Volkswagen of America Headquarters, in 2003 we moved our event to a new location. We now hold our car show on a soft bed of grass, under mature shade trees, along a beautiful section of the Huron River--in Ypsilanti's Depot Town. As it is the second oldest city in the state of Michigan, this community is rich in its heritage. Ypsilanti is also a key point on the National Automotive Heritage Trail--so it is rich in automotive history as well!

The MVVC feels this is the perfect spot for our car show, allowing us to take the Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Festival to the next level. Besides providing a more comfortable setting for our usual activities, we are teaming up with the local museums and merchants to add more interest and depth to this event.

Automobile National Heritage

The US Congress authorized the Automobile National Heritage Act in November of 1998. The mission is to preserve, interpret and promote southeastern Michigan's rich automotive heritage. The Automobile National Heritage Area is compromised of six geographic corridors: Detroit River Corridor; Flint Corridor; Rouge River Corridor; US 12/Sauk Trail Corridor; and the Woodward Avenue Corridor. The US 12/Sauk Trail Corridor consists of the roadway between Detroit and Chicago.

There are many names for this route along the southern part of the state: Chicago Road; Michigan Avenue; US 12. Whatever you call it, there's no denying this roadway is home to a number of important landmarks for history buffs and automotive enthusiasts. Attractions in Ypsilanti's Depot Town include:  Michigan Antique Fire Museum, Miller Motors Historic Hudson Dealership, RM Classic Cars, and the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Collection.

More Information

Riverside Park

The venue for the Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club will be Riverside Park. This area was first settled by the Huron Indians because of the flat area along side the Huron River. The park is perfect for car shows as it is flanked on the east by the Huron River and on the west by historic homes. The park is centrally located between our other festival attractions--which are all within walking distance of our Festival.

Michigan Antique Fire Museum

Michigan Antique Fire Equipment Preservation Group housed in a fire station built in 1898 with some of the original equipment still in the building along with a display of fire fighting equipment from private collections.

Admission is free, but donations are greatly appreciated.

Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Collection & Miller Motors

It is part of the Ypsilanti Historical Society and features automobiles and auto parts once produced in Ypsilanti. Its collection includes the Tucker mock-up car used in the movie Tucker. Adjacent to and part of the museum is "The last Hudson Dealer"/Miller Motors which has a large exhibit of Hudson history.

 

Visit the Automotive Collection On Line

RM Classic Cars US Headquarters

Located a block north of Depot Town, RM is one of the best known restorers of vintage automobiles in the world and have located their US offices here in Ypsilanti where they have many automobiles on display.

 

Hours for the Festival:

Historic Depot Town

The MVVC is teaming up with the Merchants of Depot Town for this years Festival. Not only will we have our regular activities during our Sunday car show, but area merchants will be open for your shopping and dinning pleasure.

Visit the Depot Town Merchants On Line

Visit The Side Track Bar and Grill