CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – When we told you that Ford fans around the world had celebrated “National Mustang Day” on April 17^th, 2018, we weren’t kidding. Yes, Ford Performance had attended a couple of gatherings to mark the “official” birthdate of the Ford Mustang. One such event was held at Ford World Headquarters, and the weekend before the big day, we were invited by the folks who are building the Mustang Owner’s Museum outside Charlotte, North Carolina, to their own three-day event.  

But make no mistake – “National Mustang Day” could now more accurately be called “Global Mustang Day,” as several Mustang clubs from outside of North America have also joined in on the Ford owner pony party. Take the “National Mustang Day” that was celebrated in Christchurch, New Zealand, and hosted by the Canterbury Mustang Club, for example.
(Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region.)

The Canterbury Mustang Owners Club of New Zealand sent out a notice that it planned a cruise to six “Mustang” locations in Christchurch, followed by Show ’n’ Shine at Canterbury Agricultural Park on Sunday, April 15, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. for what they described as a “mix & mingle.”

“Calling all Mustangs – all years and models,” the notice read. “Bring your picnic baskets. There’ll be coffee, music and prizes. Let’s bring all the ponies out . . . let’s celebrate the Mustang legend with old and new friends. There’s no entry fee, and the event is open to all Mustang owners (you don’t need to be a member of the Canty Mustang Owners Club). Come to Canterbury’s special event, and be part of the world-wide celebrations marking the birth of the Mustang legend in U.S. showrooms on April 17, 1964 . . . Spread the word!”

This special Mustang Day event, was organized by Garry Jackson of the Canty Mustang Owners Club, and it turned out to be a big success. Garry was kind enough to send us this report:

“The Canterbury Mustang Owners Club event on April 15 was attended by 120 Mustangs, from a very early 64½ to the very latest 2018 model year Mustang (which will be launched in NZ in May), and just about every model in-between. The display was a great representation of the total membership of the club, which now stands at 341 members (some of whom own more than one Mustang).

“The format was a ‘show and shine,’ and the celebratory nature of the event was captured by a series of informative sign boards, one for each model series across the years 1964 through 2015. We ran a special questionnaire (with questions carefully selected to minimize the impact of ‘Mr. Google’), and all top entries went into a drawing for special Mustang prizes – including top-line coffee table Mustang books, Mustang Monthly magazines, and Mustang wall clocks. We concluded the event with cutting a large, specially decorated cake which was shared with all participants and visitors.

“It was a great way to conclude a special day for all Mustang owners and enthusiasts!”

We couldn’t agree more with our Mustang club friends in New Zealand, and are pleased to share some of their photos from the event in the gallery below:

PHOTOS COURTESY GARRY JACKSON / CANTY MUSTANG OWNERS CLUB