3rd Annual Back to the Bricks Heart of Michigan Promotional Tour

Counting down to to The 3rd Annual Back to the Bricks Heart of Michigan Promotional Tour: Friday, June 15 – Friday, June 22, 2012. June 23 Tour Participants will be able to drive into the Sloan Museum Auto Fair, download the pre-registration form off www.backtothebricks.org.

There will be evening events at all of the stops listed on the schedule: Mt. Pleasant, Grayling, Traverse City, Cadillac, Grand Rapids, Sturgis (two nights) and Grand Blanc. However, there are also many “in between” stops during the days we are touring. The first stop along the trip will be Durand. Learn about history of the railroad, shop and cruise on over to the Fraternal Order of Eagles for a mini car cruise. Shuttles are available from downtown to the Durand Depot so cruisers can leave there cars on the streets of downtown Durand.  Other “in between” stops include lunch in Baldwin and a visit to the Shrine of the Pines, Classic Instruments for a tour, Ididit for another behind the scenes peak and lots of things to do in the Sturgis Area!

Back to the Bricks: Do you ever feel like you’re being followed?

I’ll bet the driver of this old-school Bentley did this afternoon. One of the best parts of the annual cruise festival is the diversity of the cars, and car owners, who make it to the bricks. There are cars and trucks from every era and from automakers across the globe. There are also people from all walks of life who enjoy the event each year. Essentially, if you have a unique ride (classic or not), you can get a spot on the bricks. And the entire event is free, so you can’t be more inclusive than that. (Photo by Jared Field)

Back to the Bricks: A sea of people before the rains came

This is what downtown Flint looked like this afternoon around 2:30 p.m. before the rains came. Numerous blocks of downtown streets were closed to normal traffic including an area north of the bridge that was home to hundreds of Chevrolet Corvettes. From Fifth Avenue south to Court Street, downtown Flint was curb-to-curb people. It’s really too bad the day had to be cut short by weather.

Kudos to everyone involved in putting together this great event for Genesee County — The Back to the Bricks Committee, The Flint Area CVB and the Flint DDA especially. (Photo by Jared Field)

A bird’s-eye view of Friday night at Back to the Bricks

It was a beautiful night in downtown Flint for Back to the Bricks. Thousands took to the bricks of South Saginaw Street to take part in what has become one of the Midwest’s biggest car festivals. The highlight of the evening was the concert on the bricks with Sonny Turner and members of the Flint Symphony Orchestra. Tomorrow is the final day of Back to the Bricks. See you down there. (Photo by Jared Field)

Photo of the Day: The muscle behind the scenes at Back to the Bricks

This morning, downtown Flint was already abuzz with preparation for the weekend’s big event. When the big show at Back to the Bricks opens up in downtown Flint tonight, most folks probably won’t have a clue how much work was done in the early-morning hours to prepare the site. Here’s a photo of some of the stage crew this morning constructing the main stage on South Saginaw Street north of the bridge. Starting at 6:30 p.m., Sonny Turner, former lead singer of The Platters, will perform with the Flint Symphony Orchestra. The show will be broadcast live on ABC 12. (Photo by Jared Field)

Back to the Bricks: Free lunch for cruisers at Duke’s in Flint

At Back to the Bricks, there is such a thing as a free lunch. Today, from now until 3 p.m., cruisers can receive a free hot dog lunch at Duke’s Car Stereo, 2833 S. Dort Highway, in Flint. You can hang out there for the afternoon in preparation for the big event in downtown Flint starting at 6 p.m.

Cars, food, live music, vendors, kid-friendly activities and more on the bricks in downtown Flint.

 

All aboard: The best seats in the house for Back to the Bricks

Check out these kids in downtown Flint this evening. The crew had the best seats in the house for the second night of the rolling cruise from downtown Flint to Grand Blanc. There were numerous military-style vehicles on the route tonight, but none bigger than this monster. (Photo by Jared Field)

On the route: Derby Girl at Rollhaven host site on rolling cruise

The Flint City Derby Girls were out in full force in Grand Blanc Township tonight. They even set up at dunk tank at the Rollhaven host site on Saginaw Street. There are dozens of host sites from southern Genesee County all the way into downtown Flint which, in case you didn’t know, was absolutely packed this evening. And while the rolling cruise is pretty much over at this time of the night, we have a full two days of fun left in the 2011 Back to the Bricks Cruise Festival. The focal point of the event now shifts to downtown Flint. (Photo by Jared Field)

Take two: Rolling Cruise starts up again this evening at 5 p.m.

Photo by Gerry Leslie

If a slow ride isn’t your thing, you might want to avoid Saginaw Street this evening. The annual Back to the Bricks Rolling Cruise, second edition, starts tonight at 5 p.m. as thousands of classic cars (and car buffs) take to the street from Grand Blanc to Flint.

This year there are three Mega sites and dozens of other cruise sites to visit all along the more than 11-mile span of Saginaw Street. Bear in mind that this is a major event on a very large scale. There are thousands of spectators and cruisers all along the route. Stay safe.

The cruise will end promptly at 9 p.m.

Editor’s note: It took me over an hour to get from Saginaw Street and Maple Ave (locals know the intersection) to downtown Flint. This is a serious cruise.

For more information on the cruise, check out Mlive’s coverage of Back to the Bricks.

Video: Back to the Bricks gets revved up in style