Woodward Dream Cruise Returns for 30th Year
(Charlie Haviland, Aug. 11, 2025)
Oakland County, MI – While the Woodward Dream Cruise – which celebrates its 30th anniversary next week is technically not a Detroit event – it takes place in Oakland County, celebrating the spirit of Detroit and Detroit’s place in global automotive history.
Almost two million folks are expected to turn out Saturday, August 16th to bear witness to more than 40,000 classic cars – and motorcycles! – cruising Woodward Avenue – the first paved road in Michigan – at the largest festival of its type in the world.
To put that two million number into context: New Orleans’ Mardi Gras this year attracted 1.4 million party goers according to AL.com. Austin’s SXSW (South by Southwest) attracts a half million. Burning Man in Nevada attracts 80,000. Coachella in California attracts 125,000. Lalapalooza in Chicago sells out each year at 115,000. Michigan’s Woodward Dream Cruise: nearly two million. Two million. The largest festival in America.
And, it’s free.
Although the Woodward Dream Cruise technically runs one day on Saturday from 9AM to 9PM, the classic cars show up in late July and you’ll see Corvettes, Ford Mustangs, and Dodge Chargers through Labor Day. Ancillary classic car side shows have spawned in Clawson, Taylor, Chesterfield, Troy, Linden, Bay City, and more.
Woodward Dream Cruise is truly a month long party.
Lou Samson, a longtime Clawson resident who lives four miles from Woodward Avenue, says the Dream Cruise is a little about showing off but more about living and reliving history. Samson participates with his 1976 Corvette Stingray and 1968 Plymouth Road Runner which he bought off the new car lot when he was seventeen for $2600.
“For those of us who grew up in the Fifties and the Sixties,” says Samson, “any given classic car at any given moment might trigger good memories. It’s not just about my cars, it’s about all the others and about the joy of living in another time.”
What’s in it for those folks who don’t have those memories, those born in the Twenty First Century? “It’s a family event, really,” says Samson. His adult children and young grandchildren participate each year. Samson’s late mother Marguerite drag raced his Plymouth Road Runner up Telegraph Road, down Square Lake Road to Woodward way back when gasoline was 19 cents a gallon.
Deborah Brolley, an Illinois native who raised her three children in Beverly Hills, Michigan four miles from Woodward Avenue, takes in the Dream Cruise with her children and grand children. Her father travels from Florida each year. Four generations.
“My father was a mechanic,” said Brolley, “and at age 88 he still shares with his automotive wisdom with his grandchildren; the models and model years of the classics and any trivia that goes along with them. Sometimes, my son Kevin will actually cruise Woodward with his grandfather in the family Corvair. My daughter Erin resisted the Dream Cruise until she covered it for Channel 7. Once she saw the joy the families were having she became the Cruise’s biggest fan.”
The Cruise runs from Eight Mile Road in Ferndale to Pontiac and back. Epicenters include Maple Road in Birmingham, Thirteen Mile Road in Royal Oak, and Twelve Mile Road in Berkley.
Driving to and parking at the event has become a thirty year old sub culture in itself. Make and keep a plan. Determine where you want to view the cruise. Learn about the parking options: side streets. Get there early. Bring lawn chairs, food and, most importantly, water. Alcohol consumption is prohibited.
“We love the Dream Cruise,” said Eric Fuller, a manager at Como’s restaurant at Nine Mile Road in Ferndale. “It’s one of the great events.”
It’s our biggest weekend of the year,” said Josh Humphrey COO and general partner of Peas & Carrots Hospitality, the parent group which owns Como’s and also Social Kitchen in Birmingham. “Social is always busy, but on the cruise weekend Social is a different kind of busy with a different kind of clientele.”
Michael Lary works as Event Coordinator for the City of Ferndale, and is the President of the Official Woodward Dream Cruise. The event began in 1995 in Ferndale as a fundraiser to create a soccer field in Martin Road Park.”“You don’t have to be a car enthusiast to enjoy the Dream Cruise,” said City of Ferndale Special Events Director Michael Lary. “The passion for this event is phenomenal. And the fans keep this thing alive.”
The Dream Cruise is a “rain or shine” event. The forecast for Saturday calls for partly cloudy skies and a high approaching 90. Check out the official Woodward Dream Cruise website for local events, merchandise, parking options and more https://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com/
