The Petersen Automotive Museum, located in Los Angeles, California, is throwing it back to the ’80s with their “Back to the Future” month. Celebrations begin April 20 as the museum becomes the new home of the Back to the Future DeLorean.
Museum members will be able to attend the unveiling of the car, followed by a panel discussion with Bob Gale, the writer and co-creator of Back to the Future, and John Murdy, Universal Studios Hollywood Creative Director, in addition to the movie car builders and technicians who worked to restore the DeLorean back to its on-screen condition.
The following Saturday, April 23, the Petersen invites guests 21-and-older to wear their best ’80s outfits to the “Enchantment Under the Sea” dance and party, a re-creation of the of the dance from the Back to the Future movie. Missing Persons and a Back to the Future tribute band, The Flux Capacitors, are set to play live music.
DeLorean owners are encouraged to show their cars on April 24, from 8 to 10 a.m., at the museum for a DeLorean themed Breakfast Club Cruise-in.
While the Petersen celebrates the ’80s, the Simeone Automotive Museum in Philadelphia opens its 18-car tribute to Subaru on Saturday. The exhibit will include both road-going and competition cars, and it runs through May 1.
On April 21, the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento provides museum goers with a sneak peek of their new exhibit, “The Pickup Truck: where utility meets the everyday.” Set to run from April 23 through September 11, the exhibit looks at the transition of the American pickup truck as a work vehicle to a personal vehicle with examples from the 1920s through modern day.
Running through April 25, the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville presents its annual, limited-run exhibit, “Hoods Up,” which provides museum goers with a look under the hoods of 40 museum cars, among those, a 1962 Renault Dauphine, a 1967 Toyota Sports 800, a 1933 Panhard-Levassor, a 1985 Renault 5 Turbo, a 1974 Citroën DS21 Rally Car, a 1938 BMW 320 and a 1934 Aero 30.
Car shows (with and without coffee):
This Saturday is Muscle Car City’s monthly car show in Punta Gorda, Florida, running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. On April 24, the museum will hold its monthly auto flea market and car corral.
The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, has its first car show of the season, Cars 4 Critters, on April 23 to benefit homeless animals.
The Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California, holds its third annual Carroll Shelby Memorial Car Show on May 7.
The Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a car show May 21 to honor its founder. The show, “the Donald Gilmore Classic,” showcases cars from 1896-1942 and includes a driving tour May 20 and a swap meet May 21.
The California Automobile Museum plans a Memorial Day car show May 30 featuring Corvettes and other American muscle cars. The museum also hosts “Cruise Fest on Fulton Avenue” on September 10. The show is set to include live music, a beer garden and food trucks.
LeMay-America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, has announced its 2016 cruise-in dates. The cruise-ins are free and feature a DJ, food and the option to enter to win prizes and the people’s choice award. The dates are May 12, June 9, July 14, August 11, September 8 and October 13.
The Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan is holding Cars and Coffee on June 18, August 27 and October 15.
And it’s not just cars:
On Saturday, the America On Wheels Museum turns eight and is celebrating its birthday with $8 admission to the museum.
Flux Capacitor on the DeLoreanThe following Sunday, April 24, the World of Speed Museum in Wilsonville, Oregon, celebrates its birthday with birthday cake for all visitors and a toast with the museum’s founders and staff. Members also will have access to the learning center to view slot-car racing and Pinewood Derby action.
The museum holds its 2016 Spark Gala on September 17. The event is an effort to raise funds for the museum’s educational programs.
Early registration for the fifth annual Vintage Motorcycle Festival, the MEET, at the LeMay-America’s Car Museum, has opened. The festival is July 30, and early registration is $15 through July 15, after which it will be $20.
The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has opened registration for the Michelin NCM Bash to be held April 28-30. Attendees will be able to get up close to the next-model-year Corvette as well as hear from the engineers and designers of the car.
On June 18-19, the museum will host a live feed of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in the museum theater with live timing and scoring along with refreshments and hourly updates from the Corvette race team. Registration is $100.
Educational opportunities:
The next class in a six-part series on the foundations of automotive photography at Simeone Museum is this Saturday, and will look at composition. Classes follow June 4, July 30, September 17 and October 29. The museum has announced it was awarded the AACA Plaque Award in recognition of outstanding achievement in the preservation of automotive history.
The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Museum’s series of monthly “Sprint Car 101 forums” has scheduled the following events: “Remembering Jerry Richert,” hosted by Phil Dullinger on Sunday at the American Legion Post in Savage, Minnesota; “An Evening with Duane ‘Pancho’ Carter & Steve Stapp to benefit Racers at Rest,” hosted by Brian Gerster on May 5 at the American Legion Post in Speedway, Indiana; and remaining forums held at the museum in Knoxville, Iowa, on May 21, June 11 and July 16.
The League of Retired Automotive Designers, an informal group of mostly retired automobile designers, will be a part of a panel discussion held on April 20, moderated by collections manager Sam Gate, at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Indiana. The designers are set to discuss their ideas, concepts and renderings, and the inspirations for their drawings.
Model T Drivers’ Ed registration is open at the LeMay Marymount in Tacoma, Washington. The first class will be April 23, followed by May 14, June 4, July 9, August 13 and September 10.
The next speaker-series discussion at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California, is scheduled May 7 with Allen Grant discussing the 1965 Shelby Team Driver.
The California Automobile Museum offers a Mother’s Day tea and talk on May 8.
The next Science Saturday at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada, is “Exploring planet Earth” on May 14, followed by “Roving Marz” on June 11, “Journeying to the moon” on July 9, and “food in space” on August 13.
On tour:
The California Automobile Museum has several car-themed tours scheduled. The next trip is May 14-21 and goes to Cuba. Another museum tour goes to France from June 15-24 for the 24 hours of Le Mans, including a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Ford’s victory and the 25th anniversary of Mazda’s victory in the race.
“Museum in Motion” tours by the National Corvette Museum have begun. The next tours include the Tail of the Dragon on May 1-4 and the Marble and Glass tour through New England from May 19-22. The museum holds its seventh annual “One lap of Kentucky” fund-raising event in October over the course of three weeks: October 11-15, 18-22 and 25-29. The event previously has been a one-day Corvette excursion led by the state troopers, but the event this year is open to enthusiasts of all different years, makes and models, and it is a multi-day drive visiting Kentucky’s significant landmarks.
