Ever since the Mustang turned 50, the idea of owners and fans getting out on April 17^th to celebrate National Mustang Day has grown into an annual global phenomenon. And it isn’t just Mustang clubs and fans who are joining in on the fun. Our friends at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, have again planned a celebration for April 17, and are inviting all Mustang owners to come to Chocolate Town for an open-house style party that includes FREE admission to the museum for you and everyone in your Mustang on show day.

We’ve often visited and attended Ford and Mustang centric events at the Hershey Antique Auto Museum, a world-class facility affiliated with the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), and can tell you there’s lots of fun things to see and do here for the whole family -- with cars, motorcycles, buses, trucks and other attractions on the Museum’s three levels. But in addition to getting to tour the museum at no charge (courtesy of event partner CJ Pony Parts), Mustang owners will also get to showcase their rides from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. is a designated parking area especially for Mustangs. What’s more, Mustang drivers and their passengers receive a free commemorative AACA Museum, Inc. & CJ Pony Parts decal, plus drivers of the first 100 Mustangs to arrive will receive an official 2021 National Mustang Day decal. Check the AACA Museum’s website for full details.

Mustang Clubs and Fans from Across the Globe Planning Driving, Cruising Events on National Mustang Day, Saturday, April17, 2021

So how are you planning to celebrate National Mustang Day this year? If you are a member of a Mustang club, then it’s likely you’ll be invited to participate in some sort of cruise or driving event with your Ford pony car to help mark the anniversary date of the Mustang’s public introduction back on April 17, 1964. National Mustang Day was originally set up to be an annual fundraiser for the Mustang Owners Museum via the sale of windshield stickers to participating clubs. The museum, which is located in suburban Charlotte, North Carolina, set up a National Mustang Day website to facilitate the sale of the window clings and list all of the participating club activities planned for that day, as well as to register for the museum’s own event on that day. Although the museum was forced to postpone this year’s National Mustang Day event until July 29-31, 2021, due to the pandemic, some 100 Mustang clubs have given the green light to driving events, and have already listed their 2021 National Mustang Day activities on the website.

Ford Performance is planning coverage from some select events on April 17^th, most notably the “Mustangs and Mustangs” National Mustang Day gathering set for the Valiant Air Command Museum in Titusville, Florida. For a $20 donation, the cruise-in there hosted by the Space Coast Mustang Club includes all-day admission to the air museum and the chance to photograph your Ford Mustang in front of the XP-82 Twin Mustang Prototype Aircraft. Although some groups are now calling April 17^th a Global Mustang Day, we hope you get the chance to get out and celebrate no matter what you call it. We plan to join a couple of MCA regional clubs in Ohio – including the Tri-Cities Mustang & Ford Club of Greater Cincinnati -- for a road trip to the Halderman Museum outside of Dayton that weekend, as well as to tag along with the Mustang Owners Club of SouthEastern Michigan (MOCSEM) for a Detroit-area driving event next weekend. The only rules are to have fun, and stay safe!

Time to Register your Club or Ford Fan Facebook Group with Ford Performance Club Connect

By now you should have heard about a cool Ford Performance initiative called “Club Connect” that can help all Ford and Mustang enthusiasts get connected with both Ford Motor Company and each other. Only those clubs who register with the program are eligible for no-cost promotion and support from Ford Performance, so you owe it to members of your Mustang or Ford vehicle club or online forum to register and appear on our Ford enthusiast club map. All it takes is a visit to www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com and a single click on the “Register Your Club” link. Once you fill out the form and hit “Submit,” you’ll be notified within just a few days of your acceptance in Ford Performance Club Connect -- it’s that simple, and it’s FREE!

The primary goal of our Ford Performance Club Connect program is to get everyone to register their club – at no cost – and get themselves on our Ford enthusiast group map so that we can all connect with each other. Once there, you’ll be able to see all of the other clubs and groups who have registered in your region – not just Mustang clubs, but ALL Ford vehicle organizations. And now we’d like to invite all of you who are part of any Ford vehicle Facebook Group to register with Club Connect, too. Why? Because connecting your Facebook Group with more owners and fans makes your group more worthwhile – and registering with Club Connect will link your online group with participants who may never have known that your group exists.

The value in all of this is that whenever you plan a club or group activity, you can see what other clubs and groups are in your area that you may wish to contact and ask to join you at a show or event. It also allows Ford Performance to see all the clubs and groups in a certain area, so that when we are coming to town or planning a special Ford event in your city or state, you and your club members can be contacted to participate.

It takes only a few minutes for a club principal or board member to register your club and establish a direct link for your members to Ford Performance. And now, you can also register your group and logo with Ford Brand Licensing all in the same process. Have a product or parts question that you want answered? Wish you could get some free club event promotion in our weekly “Fast News” e-blast that goes out to more than a quarter-million Ford fans each Thursday? Looking for event coverage for your show in the Enthusiasts section of FordPerformance.com? Hoping you could find a cool Ford goodie-bag or door-prize item, or a banquet guest speaker? How about requesting on-site show support with an appearance by our Ford Performance Meet & Greet tent, along with FREE Mustang poster giveaways for all show attendees? Individual requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, but they can ONLY be awarded to clubs who are registered.

So go to www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com and click on the “Find Your Club” link to see if you are on the map. If not, then act now to register your Ford-based club or Facebook Group so that you can join this special program -- all backed and supported by a real enthusiast staff managed by Ford Performance. If you have questions or want more info, you and your members can always email us at ClubHub@Ford.com, or can simply call our Ford Performance Info Center, toll-free during regular business hours, at 1-800-FORD-788 (800-367-3788).

So what are you waiting for? Get online and make sure you’re connected. Then plan to enjoy your performance Ford later this year so that you can discover the fun and all of the friendly people involved in the world of Ford Performance. We’re sure that being connected with each other and with Ford will make your ownership experience even more enjoyable!

Here's How Easy It Is to Get You and Your Car(s) Featured in Our Weekly ‘Ford Fan Spotlight’

For the past decade, one of the most popular features on FordPerformance.com and in our Fast News e-newsletter continues to be "Ford Fan Spotlight," where readers can send in their own reasons why they're fans of Ford Motor Company. You know who they are: Ford "superfans;" grassroots Ford racers; unique Ford vehicle owners; loyal Ford enthusiasts; notable Ford club people; special Ford families; and/or any avid supporter of Ford, Ford vehicles, Ford motorsports or Ford Performance who deserves a little bit of special recognition.

All you need to do to get you, your car or candidate considered is to send in a brief description (200-500 words or less) and a few photos (in .jpeg format, preferably 1 mb) of a person (full name and hometown, please) and vehicle that you think Ford Performance should feature (and why) in the "Ford Fan Spotlight" for an upcoming installment of Fast News and posting on FordPerformance.com. Then email it to: ClubHub@Ford.com. (Your submission grants us your permission for us to use your copy and photos on our website and other Ford media outlets, edited as necessary.) We'll choose one submission to be featured each week. We hope to see YOU and your collectible Ford in our Fan Spotlight soon!

Now Read Our Enthusiasts News Each Week on Ford Performance Club Connect

One race – one win – was all it took for Henry Ford to generate enough buzz and belief in his engineering among investors to secure funding and launch the Ford Motor Company. At Ford Performance, we have never forgotten where it all began. So we’ve been honoring our heritage, our products and our relentless competitive spirit by shining a light on motorsports and the Ford enthusiast world each week with our Fast News e-newsletter.

From news on our hottest cars and trucks or performance parts to the latest scoop on all the must-see Ford enthusiast events and shows, our weekly Fast News email has been your ticket to stay connected to the company that put the world on wheels. But trying to keep up with emails has left some of you in the dust. So that’s why Ford Performance is now posting our weekly Enthusiast News directly on www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com -- so you can check it out the next time you’re online without sorting through your email inbox. So put our FordPerformanceClubConnect.com website on your Favorites list, and then hop-in, buckle-up and hang-on each and every week for our Enthusiast News, because like you and all of us in the Ford enthusiast world, we’ll be driving Ford passion!