Ford Motor Company has joined the Mustang anniversary enthusiast movement taking place all over the word by declaring this entire week “Global Mustang Week,” leading up to celebrating Mustang’s recognized “birthday” this Saturday, marking the date of its public introduction on April 17, 1964. While Ford has spent the week releasing information on everything Mustang – from Mustang claiming “back-to-back world’s best-selling sports car crowns” and retaining the world’s “best-selling sports coupe title for the sixth straight year,” to releasing documents from the Ford Archives on development the original Mustang, and even to revealing Chase Briscoe’s 2021 #14 Global Mustang Week Paint Scheme for his NASCAR racer -- Mustang owners and clubs have been busy planning April 17 events.

Ford itself has teamed up with one of the largest and most active clubs in the nation – the Mustang Owners Club of SouthEastern Michigan (MOCSEM) -- to host a special Global Mustang Day Rally on April 17 that starts in Detroit and ends up in Dearborn. Ford Performance helped sponsor the event by providing logo facemasks for each driver-participant, and will be going along for the ride to provide coverage of the Global Mustang Day Rally on FordPerformance.com. We’ll also have staff joining a couple of MCA regional clubs in Ohio – including the Tri-Cities Mustang & Ford Club of Greater Cincinnati -- for a cruise-in to the Halderman Museum (along with several Mustang authors) outside of Dayton. What’s more, we’ve scheduled coverage of 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.

And that’s just a small sample of the some of the things on tap for this Global Mustang Week 2021, as Ford clubs and fans from across North and South America, Europe and Australia – truly from all over the world -- will be driving their Mustangs on this Saturday, April 17. Ever since the Ford Mustang turned 50, the idea of owners and fans getting out on April 17^th to celebrate Ford’s famed Pony Car has grown into an annual global phenomenon. Some six years ago, the Mustang Owners Museum had set up “National Mustang Day” as an annual fundraiser for 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 April 17 event. Although the museum was forced to postpone its own event this year until July 29-31, 2021, due to the pandemic, more than 100 Mustang clubs have given the green light to driving events, and have already listed their 2021 National Mustang Day activities on the website.

So how are YOU planning to celebrate Ford’s Global Mustang Week? You might want to visit www.FordPerformanceClubConnect.com to find a Mustang club near you and check to see how you might participate in some sort of cruise or driving event with your Ford pony car on April 17. The only rules are to have fun, and stay safe!

AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Marks National Mustang Day with its Own Special Pony Party Set for April 17

Our friends at the AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, have again planned a special Mustang celebration for April 17 this year, and are inviting all 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. in 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.

As Well As Global Mustang Week, a Reminder: Don’t Forget the annual Mustang Week event in Myrtle Beach, Celebrating 20 Years Sept. 6-12, 2021

Twenty years. That’s how long the annual Mustang Week event has been taking place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Organizers are quick to note that there are very few independent car-based events that last that long. This year, Mustang Week will celebrate its 20th Anniversary event since breaking the mold of the typical Mustang-based one- or two-day show to offer a week-long series of events that cover all aspects of enjoying our Mustangs. Mustang Week offers something for everyone, including cruise-ins, car shows, track events, and, of course, a beach vacation. It's an annual enthusiast pilgrimage that brings us all together in one place to celebrate the iconic Ford Mustang. Look for a preview and then full event coverage later this year in the Enthusiasts section of FordPerformance.com. We’ve been given an advance look at the 2021 Mustang Week schedule below – with the two biggest days, Friday’s Car Show and Saturday’s Cruise-In, expected to bring in more than 1,000 Mustangs and over 10,000 spectators. Here’s what’s on tap this fall:

2021 Mustang Week Schedule

DAY 1: Monday (September 6th, 2021)
Kick-Off Party at Hard Rock Café – Broadway at the Beach 3-7 p.m.

DAY 2: Tuesday (September 7th, 2021)
Meet ‘n Greet at Broadway at the Beach, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

DAY 3: Wednesday (September 8th, 2021)
Autocross – DETAILS TO COME SPRING 2021

DAY 4: Thursday (September 9th, 2021)
Mustang Week Test-N-Tune Presented by UPR Products @ Darlington Dragway, Hartsville, SC., 1-11 p.m.

DAY 5: Friday (September 10th, 2021)
18th Annual Mustang Week Car Show presented by CJ Pony Parts – Myrtle Beach Convention Center
Registration opens June 19th / Check-in: 8-11 a.m. / Judging: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

DAY 6: Saturday (September 11th, 2021)
Mustang Week Cruise-In at Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Presented by Saleen
East Coast’s Largest Mustang and SVT Cruise-in 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. / Car Show Awards and Raffle Drawing @ Myrtle Beach Convention Center, 3 p.m.

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!