January 9-10, Silver Springs, FL

• 16th annual Ford and Mustang Roundup at Silver Springs, hosted by National Parts Depot and co-sponsored by Mustang Monthly and Modified Mustangs & Fords magazines.
• Free registration to first 1,000 pre-registered cars by January 1, which includes two passes to Silver Springs. People's Choice judging, Mustang Monthly, Modified Mustangs & Fords Editor's choice awards.
• Info: Stacy Gunn, 352/861-8701 (ext. 4208) or email to sgunn@npdlink.com.

February 7, Deland, FL

• Inaugural Cruise-In hosted by Central Florida Pony Sports at Hampton's Drive-In, 250 International Speedway Blvd.
• All vehicles welcome.
• Info: www.cflponysports.com

If Las Vegas has a cousin, it is surely Reno, Nevada. The "Biggest Little City in the World" is an extraordinary place to visit and live, well away from the lights of Las Vegas and just a short distance from Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A gambling town to be sure, Reno is also a metropolis surrounded by wonderfulness.inline_mediumwraptextright26571091/eventcoverage/mump_0911_restomods_in_renomump_0911_02_+restomods_in_reno_show+orange_mustang.jpgTrue

Chicago is a hot-bed for Mustangs and Ford performance, so it's not surprising that there was a large turn-out for the car show portion of the Nitto Tire NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing, held July 16-19 at Route 66 Raceway in nearby Joliet. In fact, there were so many cars that the NMRA was able to present nearly all of its over 100 weekend show awards. Even though the combination NMRA/NMCA event is billed as a major drag race, the All-Ford Auto Show attracted a packed show field of Mustang and Ford owners from around the Chicagoland area.

YearOne and Chip Foose teamed up to throw another successful Braselton Bash and raised more than 100k for charity.inline_mediumwraptextright25499300/eventcoverage/mump_091015_2009_yearone_foose_bash_wrap_upmump_year_one_foose_bash_wrap_up_winners.jpgTrue

Stop number three on the NMRA's 2009 event schedule took place in June at Milan Dragway, just a few miles west of Ford's headquarters and assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan. As a result, the show field for the sixth annual Aeromotive NMRA Ford Nationals was loaded with everything from old and new Mustangs to big Galaxies and haulin' Rancheros. Over 200 Mustangs and Fords participated in the show portion of the NMRA event, which also included a drag race program, swap meet, and manufacturer's midway.inline_mediumwraptextrightJarrod King's sharp '67 Shelby GT350 took a second-place in the Best Shelby/Boss class, behind overall Best of Show winner Steve Trombley's '70 Boss 429. The Cobra 289 in Jarrod's GT350 is boosted by a Paxton supercharger.24861211/eventcoverage/mump_0910_2009_nmra_nationals_milanmump_0910_03_o+2009_nmra_nationals+67_shelby_gt350.jpgTrue

Following a two-month break after the season-opening event in Florida, round two of the 2009 NMRA season stormed into Atco, New Jersey, on May 15-17 for the ninth annual Nitto NMRA Nationals, sponsored by Ford and presented by Downs Ford. While the drag racers roared down the quarter-mile in their quest for season points, Mustang and Ford car show participants from around the Garden State vied for plaques and trophies in the All-Ford Auto Show, hosted at Atco by a joint effort between Wicked Motorsports and Eastcoaststang.com. We've got to hand it to the NMRA for handing out a ton of awards at their shows. At Atco, nearly 100 plaques and trophies were distributed on Saturday and Sunday for everything from Top 20 Fords to Best Classic Mustang to Best of Show. Bob Hahn Sr. nabbed two of the event's biggest awards-Sunday's Best of Show and the Mustang Monthly Editor's Choice award-with his 77-mile '92 SAAC Mk 1 Mustang.

A Fun Ride
Original '64½ owner Mike Zwirlein made it to Birmingham but was unable to bring his car, a Caspian Blue hardtop that he bought on August 15, 1964, because he is currently putting the car back into driving condition.inline_mediumwraptextrightMike Zwirlein and his wife Lynette with Marc Snyder's Mustang24987368/eventcoverage/mump_0909_1964_mustangs_original_owners_storiesmump_0909_16_+1964_mustangs_289_engine+mike_zwirlein_and_wife.jpgTrue

There are two things for certain at the All-Ford Nationals-it's either going to rain or it's going to be hot. Sometimes both. At this year's show, held over the June 5-7 weekend at the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the rain rolled in on Friday morning and continued throughout the day, putting a drenching on our Pony Trails cruise and bringing out the umbrellas and hay ground-cover at the Carlisle Fairgrounds. But when the rain moved out overnight, it left us with a sunny and warm-but thankfully not hot-Saturday and Sunday to enjoy the Carlisle swap meet, car show, and special displays.inline_mediumwraptextrightTo celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Mustang, the crew at Carlisle made a valiant effort to line up one Mustang from every year of production, from 19641/2 to 2010. There were a few missing model years, no doubt due to some car owners not making the trip to Carlisle due to Friday's nasty weather.24993413/eventcoverage/mump_0909_2009_carlisle_all_ford_nationalsmump_0909_02_+2009_all_ford_nationals+45th_anniversary_of_mustangs.jpgTrue

The Knott's Berry Farm Fabulous Fords Forever event has become a springtime pilgrimage for thousands of western Ford lovers. Many a new restoration or product debut has happened at Knott's over the years. Suffice it to say Knott's is where Fords, Mercurys, Lincolns, and Ford-powered vehicles amass each April so everyone can celebrate more than a century of Dearborn automobiles and engines.

Every five years, the Mustang nation comes together to celebrate another milestone for one of the most storied and longest-lasting nameplates in automotive history. In a tradition that dates back to the Mustang's 25th anniversary, Ford Motor Company and the Mustang Club of America join together to stage a huge bash so all Mustang enthusiasts, with interests in everything from concours vintage cars to late-model race cars, can meet in one place at one time. It's a unique partnership between the company that created the Mustang with the national club that continues to fan the flame.

Editor's Choice
As members of the Sarasota-based Mustang Club of West Central Florida, Joy and Ed Woodward drove their '66 GT convertible to Bradenton to help with the club's host function at the show. They went home with the Mustang Monthly Editor's Choice award. And we weren't alone in our admiration of the Woodwards' Ivy Green GT-the car also won the NMRA's Director's Choice award and Sunday's Best Interior honor.

If you add up the number of times each of us on this magazine's staff has trekked to Las Vegas to attend the SEMA Show, you'd be looking at more than a half-century of experience. Yeah, we've been to SEMA plenty over the years but the interest is still there. The Mustangs are cool and there's always something new.

John Calvert, driving a 40th Anniversary '08 Mustang FR500CJ Cobra Jet, duplicated the success of the original '68 Cobra Jet when he won the AA Stock Eliminator class at the 2009 NHRA Winternationals.

After a season hampered by weather problems, including an almost total washout at the Atco, New Jersey, event in August, the NMRA was thrilled to head into its World Finals with weather predictions for clear and dry skies. And that's what they got during a beautiful weekend at the beautiful Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Round six of the NMRA's seven-event season took place at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio, over Labor Day weekend. If it sounds familiar to you old-timers out there, yes, it's a continuation of the Ford Expo that's been happening in Columbus for the past 30 years.

The event logo says it all. Hosted by the Golden Horseshoe Mustang Association, the "No Borders Mustang interNationals" marked the first time the Mustang Club of America has put on a national-level event outside the continental U.S.

We haven't seen or heard much from Steve Saleen over the past couple of years. But now he appears to be making a Mustang comeback. Last month, we featured Steve and his 25th Anniversary Concept Mustang on our cover as part of our Saleen 25th anniversary coverage. At the NMRA Ford Nationals in New Jersey, held August 8-10, Steve was on hand for autographs during a special Saleen event hosted by Downs Ford Motorsport. The Saleen Club of America and the Saleen Owners and Enthusiasts Club served as the official participating car clubs for the event, so there were plenty of Saleen Mustangs on display in the Laurel Mountain Mustang Auto Show.

The NMRA made its fourth stop of the season in Joliet, Illinois, for the Keystone Automotive Ford Nationals, held at Route 66 Raceway in conjunction with the NMCA Edelbrock Muscle Car Nationals and Motive Gear Super Bowl of Street Legal Drag Racing III presented by Nitto Tire. Whew! That's a mouthful. Perhaps we should shorten it to the NMRAKAFN, NMCAEMCN, and MGSBSLDR Nationals. On second thought, even that's too long.

Round three of the NMRA's '08 season rolled into Ford's backyard for the Aeromotive NMRA Ford Nationals June 13-15 at Milan Dragway in Milan, Michigan. Located just west of Detroit, the Milan event always attracts plenty of great Mustangs for the drag racing and the Laurel Mountain Mustang All-Ford Auto Show.

I joined Mustang Monthly for the first time in March 1984, just in time to watch Editor Donald Farr thumb through our first press copies of the April-May 1984 special edition celebrating the Mustang's 20th anniversary, cover-blurbed with "Twenty Years of Mustang." .

Every year when Jim Wicks invites me to the Mid-America Shelby Meet, I initially decline because I need to attend some of the other June events around the country. Then Jim names the special cars and people coming to the show. In the end, I find myself on my company's travel website looking for a Southwest Airlines ticket to Tulsa.

As the '08 show season approached, the conversation around the Mustang water cooler speculated that high fuel prices and a slumping economy could hurt attendance at the summer shows. The June 6-8 All-Ford Nationals in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, gave us our first glimpse of how Mustang and Ford fans would react to the higher costs of traveling to major events. If what we witnessed at Carlisle is any indication, then we have to assume that everyone is scrimping and saving in other areas in order to get their fix at the shows.

Here is the 2008 events schedule for Mustang & Fords and Mustang Monthly Magazines. We're adding dates all the time. If you know of a show that's not listed, email the information to mustang.monthly@sourceinterlink.com and we'll list it here.