2026 Woodward Dream Cruise

The Woodward Dream Cruise began as a fundraiser to raise money to build a soccer field in Ferndale, Michigan.

In August 1995, Mr. Nelson House and a group of local volunteers looked to relive and recreate the nostalgic heydays of the ’50s and ’60s, when youth, rock’n roll, and Motor City steel roamed the historic Woodward Avenue, America’s first highway. That year, nearly 250,000 people participated—ten times the number expected. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since then, the Woodward Dream Cruise has grown to become North America’s largest one-day automotive event, drawing nearly one million people and 40,000 classic cars annually from around the globe—from as far away as Australia. Cruisers from all across North America caravan to Metro Detroit to participate in what has become, for many, an annual rite of summer.

VW people congregate in the parking lot of Kerby’s Koney Island, see map.