• by Tanya Gazdik , August 8, 2019

Jeep enthusiasts from around the country are coming to Toledo, Ohio to help welcome the new Jeep Gladiator. 

The Aug. 9-11 “Jeep Fest” event will include enthusiasts from 27 states, Canada and Mexico. The meeting place is significant —  Toledo is where the Jeep was invented and where production continues for the Jeep Wrangler SUV and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup truck.

The three-day event, now in its third year, is expected to draw more than the 60,000 visitors that the 2018 event lured to downtown Toledo. Beyond the large number of visitors to the downtown area, social media users from around the world learned about Toledo and Jeep as a result of previous events, says Jerry Huber, a former plant manager at Jeep and a co-founder of Toledo Jeep Fest.

The buzz is equally strong building up to this year’s event. In addition to hundreds of thousands of hits on the event website, the Facebook page has over 20,000 followers.  A recent throwback Thursday post reached nearly 13,000 people with almost 700 reactions, comments and shares.

The event is sponsored by automotive supplier Dana and ProMedica, the Toledo area’s largest healthcare system.

The signature event for the weekend is the All-Jeep Parade on Saturday. The parade will be a rolling tribute to Jeep, with over 1,300 vehicles participating. The parade is sponsored by two local dealers, Charlie's Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram and Grogan's Towne Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram.

Following the parade, Toledo’s downtown streets will be transformed into the Coleman Park-n-Shine, an all-Jeep Car Show which offers a 20-block walking tour of the vehicles. The SeaGate Convention Centre will play host to a display of rare Jeeps that range from the historic to the futuristic.