A Jeep lover’s dream begins in Ohio today, as Toledo Jeep Fest 2019 opens

Maybe you woke up this morning thinking that today is just another Friday. But if Jeeps are important to you, it’s much more. Today is opening day of Toledo Jeep Fest (August 9-11, 2019), a three-day celebration of everything Jeep.

2019 is the fourth year of the annual Jeep celebration, which debuted in 2016, drawing an estimated 40,000 people, according to event organizers, who also claim an attendance of 60,000 for last year’s Toledo Jeep Fest.

Why Toledo?

Event organizers say that the Ohio city has an important place in the history of Jeep. That history dates to 1941, when a company called Willys-Overland won a contract to design utility vehicles for a 4-wheel drive utility vehicle for U.S. military use in World War II.  And Toledo’s Jeep tradition continues today, with the Jeep Gladiator and Jeep Wrangler currently in production at FCA’s Toledo Assembly Complex.

“The history of Jeep is the history of Toledo,” said Jerry Huber, a former plant manager at Jeep and a co-founder of Toledo Jeep Fest. “The community deserves a festival that’s as great as the vehicle we are celebrating, and with the incredible support of our community and sponsors, that’s what we are going to deliver.”

So what do you do at a three-day Jeep event?

Festivities kick off today with an Off-Road Course Welcome Party, in which entered vehicles will navigate their way through 18 obstacles as onlookers enjoy live music.

The weekend’s signature event, according to organizers, is the Grogan’s Towne & Charlie’s All-Jeep Parade, set to begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 10. More than 1,300 vehicles are expected to participate in this “rolling tribute to Jeep.”

After the parade, attendees will be able to enjoy the Coleman Park-n-Shine, which transforms downtown streets of Toledo into an all-Jeep car show that includes a 20-block walking tour as an opportunity to get a closer look at Jeeps that drove in the parade, parked and on proud display by their owners.

An assemblage of “rare Jeeps” spanning the marque’s 77-year history will also be on display in the indoor comfort of the SeaGate Convention Centre in downtown Toledo.

The festival is free for to the public to attend. Advance registration, with tickets priced at $55.00 and $65.00, was required of those who wished to enter their vehicles in the festivals featured events, such as the parade, Park-n-Shine, and SeaGate Convention Center exhibition. These registrations are now sold out, according to the event website.

From an entertainment perspective, the party gets started tonight with a concert headlined by “Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx” at Promenade Park. Live music will also be featured throughout the festival, with artists performing on three stages at Toledo’s Promenade Park, Hensville Park, and Levis Square. So if you don’t have big plans on deck for the weekend yet, why not take a roadtrip to Toledo and immerse yourself in a slice of Jeep heaven?