Back to the Bricks touring car show cruising into Adrian June 9

ADRIAN — More than 300 classic cars are set to make their way to Adrian this Friday as part of the Back to the Bricks annual promo car tour for 2023.

The theme of this year’s touring car show is the “Founders Promo Tour” as it is celebrating the founding member of Back to the Bricks, Al Hatch.

Back to the Bricks last visited Adrian in 2017. It is a statewide tour of antique and classic cars founded by Hatch in August 2005 that travels to various communities and hosts events that attract more than 500,000 car enthusiasts each year.

Adrian is the initial stop on this year’s Founders Promo Tour, which spans five days from Friday, June 9, to Wednesday, June 14, and will have additional events June 10 and 11 in Auburn, Indiana; June 12 in South Bend, Indiana; and making its way back to Michigan for two show dates, June 13 and 14, in Battle Creek, according to a promotional flyer.

The tour itself is bringing 242 classic cars to Adrian’s downtown streets, a news release from the city of Adrian said, and will be joined by up to 100 participating local car enthusiasts.

Car show participants will be cruising into downtown Adrian on North Main Street at approximately 3 p.m. Friday with a police escort, the city said. The cruise will be like a parade, as intersections will be temporarily blocked off to allow the cruise of cars to pass through on their way to downtown Adrian.

“By having the Back to the Bricks tour returning to Adrian is a great economic boost to our community,” Adrian Downtown Development Authority/Main Street Executive Director Jay Marks said in a text message. “The impact on our retail stores, restaurants and hotels is great. The event in our downtown allows residents and visitors an opportunity to see how much our downtown has changed recently and to get a glimpse to the future vision of our community.”

Events on Friday will begin at 4 p.m. with activities and specials at downtown businesses, the city said. Food trucks and a Back to the Bricks merchandise trailer will also be available. Starting at 5 p.m., the On the Rocks Band will perform live on West Maumee Street.

The car show will wrap up at 8 p.m. with live music continuing until 9 p.m., according to the city’s news release.

Some streets will close to traffic at 1 p.m. Friday and are to reopen to the public at the conclusion of the event. Streets that are slated to be closed Friday are:

In December, Adrian City Administrator Greg Elliott, Communications and Marketing Coordinator Michelle Dewey, and Marks visited Flint for the Back to the Bricks Promo Tour press conference. The lineup of car shows dates and locations were announced then.

Previous Report:Adrian selected for participation in 2023 Back to the Bricks Promo Tour, June 9-14

“Back to the Bricks last visited Adrian in 2017, and the tour organizers are impressed with the new developments to downtown as well as the current car shows and First Friday events,” the city said in December.

Back to the Bricks car shows are designed to complement" and coincide with the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. It got its name because of closing down three blocks of historic "red bricks" under the arches of Saginaw Street in Flint for the inaugural event.

The cars coming to Adrian Friday will start out Friday morning from Flint.

The Back to the Bricks main event is Aug. 14-19 in Flint.

Much like Adrian’s monthly First Fridays events, a host of downtown businesses will have activities, sales and specials that correspond with the Back to the Bricks happenings. Hooligan’s Grill, Sass Gift Shop, Farvers at the Croswell, Ghidrah’s Mystic She Ways, Hang Loose Boutique & Hair Salon, Blessings & More Resale Store, The Blue Finch, Musgrove and Co., Chomp Burger, Brenda’s Little Taste of Texas, Pat Cooper Studios in the Joe Ann Steele Financial Center, The Buzz Café and Marketplace, Adrian Moose Family Center and Lodge No. 1034, Mammoth Distilling, Downtown Dempsey’s, Nova’s Soda Pop and Candy Shop, Chaloner’s Cigar House and Chaloner & Co., Nutrition 365, the Brick Wall Pub & Grub, the Marks Trading Co and Club 109 are among the participating businesses and organizations as of Wednesday morning, the city said.