Get Ready for the 2021 Fall Open House at the PPG!
Got any plans for the weekend? We sure do!
This Sunday, we’ll be opening our gates to the community in celebration of the Fall Open House at the Packard Proving Grounds. An annual autumnal tradition, the Fall Open House offers us one last opportunity to share our love for classic cars and seasonal celebrations before the weather gets cold. As always, we have big plans for this year’s event, so come join us this Sunday, October 17th from 1pm to 5pm.
The first Fall Open House at the PPG took place in October 2005 on a beautiful autumn afternoon. Cider, donuts, and classic Packards were the big draws for the event at the time, attended by approximately forty PPG volunteers and their families. From those humble beginnings have sprung a community-wide outreach and fundraising event, one that we look forward to every year.
Wondering what’s in store this weekend? Here’s the scoop:
Want to immerse yourself in Albert Kahn’s stunning architecture and a plethora of Packard history? All of the buildings on site will be open and available for touring. Learn about the PPG’s multifaceted history from our fabulous docents.
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Our grounds will be crawling with classic cars this weekend! The Fall Open House features an open car show for classic cars of all makes and models to hit our parkways and soak up some admiration. There are no entry fees or judging for this show, however. Rather, it offers the chance for collectors to show off their show-stopping cars before prepping them for winter storage.
The 2019 Fall Open House featured four hundred fifty vehicles and over one thousand of classic car enthusiasts – one of our biggest open house events to date! This year, we’re hoping to make up for the time we lost in 2020, so be sure to come out to celebrate these incredible classics.
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Ready, Set, Swap! Our swap meet will be taking place on the west-side lawn of the Tank Building. This will be your last chance to participate in some swapping with other classic collectors, so don’t miss out!
There’s plenty to see (and hear) inside, too.
The time-honored tradition of great music will be held in the Lodge Garage, with John MacArthur’s Belgian Band playing throughout the event. In previous years, our open houses were pepped up by the “Big Band” music provided by Motown legend Johnny Trudell and his bandmates. Sadly, this year marks the first Fall Open House since his passing this past May. We’ll be missing him this weekend while we remember his legacy of music that graced many an event at the PPG.
Bringing the “Big Band” music in 2011! 
Thank you for the music, Johnny!
Be sure to come hungry, because there will be treats aplenty! A bake sale will be set up in the Repair Garage if you’re interested in sampling something sweet. Alongside the goodies will be vendors and stands set up if you’d like to do some browsing. And if you’d like something savory, there will be food trucks set up outside for snacks too.
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If you’re looking for Packard swag in particular, we’ve got your covered: our gift shop will be open and ready for browsing and buying. We’re hoping to get in some fresh inventory of brand-new Packard designs, so give us a hand and make some room on our shelves! All of the proceeds from our gift shop are used to support our site.
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There’s plenty to see, hear, and taste this weekend, so be sure to stop by to visit us as we wrap up the autumnal season! We can’t wait to see you.
Special recognition goes to PPG volunteer Tom Mitchell, organizer extraordinaire for this huge event.
Many thanks go out to Marcia Arnold too, whose hard work coordinated this year’s Bake Sale.
Images included here are the capture and property of Rick Mayer.
