Woodward Dream Cruise

The Woodward Dream Cruise actually started as a small fundraiser for a soccer field in Ferndale, Michigan. In August 1995, a group of volunteers looked to relive and recreate the nostalgic heydays of the 1950s and 1960s, when youth, music and Motor City steel roamed Woodward Avenue – America's first highway. That year 250,000 people participated – nearly ten times the number expected.

Today, the Woodward Dream Cruise is the world's largest one-day automotive event, drawing 1.5 million people and 40,000 classic cars from around the world. North American cruisers from California, Georgia, Canada and all points in between caravan to Metro Detroit to participate in what has become, for many, an annual rite of summer.

The Dream Cruise takes place along a 16-mile stretch on the historical Woodward Avenue through nine host communities including Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge, Pontiac and Royal Oak, in Southeast Michigan.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is the third weekend in August each year and runs between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Berkley Cruisefest Parade of Cars

Building on the success and popularity of the Woodward Dream Cruise, many of the cities along the route have created events and activities before and during the event. One such event is the Berkley Cruisefest Parade of Cars.

This event, held on the Friday evening before the official Woodward Dream Cruise event, is a parade of classic and specialty vehicles that travels down 12 Mile Road from Woodward Avenue to Greenfield Road. Many of these parades have had well over 100 vehicles included. After the parade, there are musical acts and other activities on 12 Mile Road in the downtown area.

ARPSC Support

The Oakland County Amateur Radio Public Service Corps (ARPSC) works with Berkley Public Safety and Royal Oak Police to suppliment and extend public safety resources and operates a directed net during the Friday Parade of Cars and the Saturday of the Woodward Dream Cruise.

ARPSC members act as additional "eyes and ears" for the public safety team. Members are instructed by Oakland County Homeland Security Division and local police of any activities or situations to be on the lookout for and are instructed to report any of these activities to Net Control. Net control operators will then pass along the information to Berkley, Royal Oak, Homeland Security, and any other agency as needed.