TOLEDO JEEP FEST

What you need to know if you're attending Toledo Jeep Fest

8/9/2018

BY CAMERON FIELDS
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Jeeps on display on St. Clair Street for Jeep Fest in Toledo, Saturday, August 13, 2016.

After taking a year off in 2017, the Toledo Jeep Fest has returned for its second year this summer.

The festival will be downtown, and it will go from Aug. 10-12. The weekend-long event will have an all-Jeep parade, all-Jeep car show, music, and entertainment, as well as food trucks and other vendors.

During the event’s first year in 2016, downtown businesses benefited. Destination Toledo, the area’s tourist and convention bureau, estimated the event brought in between $2.7 million and $3.4 million in economic activity.

WATCH: 2016 Toledo Jeep Fest

With the Toledo Jeep Fest coming up, here’s a guide on what you need to know:

Friday, Aug. 10

The Jeep Off-Road Course Welcome Party will be hosted by the Monroe, Michigan, Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Superstore. The event will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., and it will be held at the superstore.
People can drive on the store’s 18-obstacle off-road course as well. The event will also have live music and giveaways.

Entertainment at Promenade Park

Kick-off concert at 6:15 p.m. with Waterville folk band Oliver Hazard
KC and the Sunshine Band will headline the concert, and it will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will cost $10.

Saturday, Aug. 11

SeaGate Convention Centre All-Jeep Car Show and All-Jeep Parade

Registration to participate in the SeaGate Convention Centre Jeep Show and the all-Jeep parade is sold out. The car show at the SeaGate Convention Centre will showcase rare Jeeps as well as models of historic value.

Where: SeaGate Convention Centre on 401 Jefferson Ave.
When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
The All-Jeep Parade and car show is open for people to showcase their Jeep in a parade route downtown. After the parade, people who brought their Jeeps will display their cars for the show portion of the event. Jeeps will be parked throughout downtown. The fee to register for the parade is $35 for each car.
Where: The route will begin at Summit Street, and it will end at the corner of Jackson Street and Huron Street.
When: Saturday from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. (official end time is noon, but event director Whitney Rofkar said it’ll probably go to 12:30)

Entertainment

Promenade Park

The Infatuations, a funk, soul band from Detroit, will perform at 12:30 p.m.
Amelia Airharts, a local rock band, will perform at 2:30 p.m.
Kentucky Chrome, a local country, rock band will perform at 4:30 p.m.

Levis Square

Athens Wheeler, a local rock, rhythm, and soul band, will perform at 12:30 p.m.
The Villains, a local rock and cover band, will perform at 2:30 p.m.

SeaGate Convention Centre

Local rock musician Johnny Rodriguez will perform at 12:30 p.m.

Hensville Park

Hensville Park will have a Dueling Pianos Under the Stars event at 7 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 12

The SeaGate Convention Centre All-Jeep Car Show will have another showing from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Entertainment

Promenade Park

MAS FiNA, a local cover band that performs multiple genres of music, will perform at 10:30 a.m.

SeaGate Convention Centre

The Storms, a local band that performs ‘50s and ‘60s rock and roll, will perform at 11 a.m.

4-Mile Run and 1-Mile Walk

Presented by Run Toledo, a local running organization that puts on runs, duathlons, and triathlons.
The 4-mile run will begin at 8:30 a.m., and the 1-mile walk will begin at 10 a.m.

Parking map for Toledo Jeep Fest 2018

Parking

Parking will be available in different garages downtown during the weekend. Whitney Rofkar, the fest’s event director, said street parking downtown will be mostly unavailable during the parade.

Rofkar recommends coming downtown early around 9 a.m. or 9:30 a.m. to possibly get street parking before the parade.

Contact Cameron Fields at cfields@theblade.com or on Twitter at @CameronFields_