Kenosha Homecoming Car Show
JULY 22-27, 2025
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Automobile manufacturing took place in Kenosha for more than 100 years. The Kenosha County Historical Society (Kenosha History Center) celebrates the area’s industrial history – including how Kenosha’s auto-making legacy shaped history through the 20th Century – both inside its museum and through events like this one.
The Kenosha Homecoming Car Show is a signature event in the Kenosha Area. Though it's not exactly an annual event, it is a much-anticipated experience for AMC and other made-in-Kenosha car collectors.
The Kenosha History Center produces the Kenosha Homecoming Car Show. Typically held every three years, the celebration will be held July 22-27, 2025. A series of events will take place at various locations. The big car show/swap meet is on Saturday, July 26.
It’s believed that there is no larger AMC show in the world!
Show your car or just come as a spectator! The Kenosha History Center recommends car owners and swap meet vendors preregister for the show/swap meet. Cars and Vendors can also register the day of the show.
Key Dates:
- Registration is now open to show your car or be a swap meet vendor.
- The week’s event schedule is now available.
- July 22-27, 2025: A series of events will take place at various locations.
- July 26, 2025: The big car show/swap meet will take place.
Jump to:
The Host | Registration | Schedule of Events | Auto Manufacturing in Kenosha | Frequently Asked Questions | In Photos
Your Event Headquarters
Kenosha History Center:
220 51st Place, Kenosha, WI 53140
(262) 654-5770
https://kenoshahistorycenter.org/events.html
https://www.facebook.com/KenoshaHistoryCenter
- Enjoy a self-guided tour of the Kenosha History Center while you're in town!
- You’ll find a variety of AMC merchandise in the museum’s gift shop!
Registration
Register now to show your car on July 26, 2025 - or to be a swap meet vendor.
Questions? Contact the Kenosha History Center at (262) 654-5770.
2025 Schedule of Events
subject to additions/changes
Note: Free admission unless otherwise noted.
Tuesday 7/22
12PM - 2PM: Daytime Car Cruise-in at Danny’s Café, 6514 Green Bay Road
4PM - 8PM: Evening Car Cruise-in at Danish Brotherhood, 1300 Sheridan Road
Wednesday 7/23
11AM - 4PM: Open House at Alfano Performance AMC Speed Shop, 3401 Roosevelt Road
10AM - 3PM: Seminars at Don's Auto Parts & Machine Shop, 6814 39th Avenue
5PM: Racing at Great Lakes Dragaway, 18411 1st Street. Fee for spectators and race cars. It’s ladies night at the track (free for women to spectate and race).
4PM - 8PM: Evening Car Cruise-in at Brat Stop, 12304 75th Street
Thursday 7/24
10 AM – 2 PM: Daytime Car Cruise-in at Lake Andrea Beer Garden, 10023 Park Drive, Pleasant Prairie
4PM - 8PM: Evening Car Cruise-in at AMC Factory Site, off of 22nd Avenue and 30th Avenue. For the first time ever, the Homecoming Car Show Thursday Night Cruise-in will be held on the site where it all started. All Kenosha-made automobiles are invited to attend an evening cruise-in on the Nash/AMC/Chrysler Factory Site (now the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood). Bring your car back to where it was manufactured; it is sure to be a nostalgic evening. The event will be part of the City of Kenosha's 175th Anniversary Celebration. All Kenosha-made vehicles will enter from 56th Street. Spectator parking will be in the parking lots west of 30th Avenue (Wood Road) between 53rd Street and 60th Street.
Friday 7/25
8AM - 4PM: Homecoming Car Show Swap Meet at Kennedy Park, 4051 5th Avenue. Fee for vendors.
10AM - Noon: Gremlin Event at Jeffery Elementary School, 4011 87th Street
4PM: Homecoming Car Show Parade starts at Southport Park, 7501 2nd Avenue. Staging starts around 3PM. The parade will travel west on 78th Street, right on 7th Avenue, and continue through Downtown Kenosha. It will continue on 6th Avenue, right into Pennoyer Park, continue through Kennedy Park, and continue through Simmons Island Park. The parade ends at the Kenosha History Center Block Party, 220 51st Place.
4PM - 8PM: Kenosha Homecoming Block Party at Kenosha History Center, 220 51st Place. The road will be closed to all other traffic. Vehicles coming to the 2025 Kenosha Homecoming Car Show at Kennedy Park on July 26 can register their car at the museum that evening and save time and hassle the next morning. Registration packets can also be picked up for anyone who pre-registered. The museum and gift shop will be open until 7PM and stocked full of AMC/Nash T-shirts and other keepsakes. Food trucks will be on-site.
Saturday 7/26
8AM - 4PM: 2025 Kenosha Homecoming Car Show & Swap Meet at Kennedy Park, 4051 5th Avenue. Fee for show cars and vendors.
Sunday 7/27
9AM: Racing at Great Lakes Dragaway, 18411 1st Street. Fee for spectators and race cars.
Kenosha’s Auto Manufacturing Legacy
There once was a bicycle maker named Thomas Jeffery who started producing the Rambler automobile in Kenosha. This was in 1902, and the Rambler was the second mass assembly car ever made. It was the start of a 108-year history of automobile manufacturing and engine assembly in Kenosha.
Through the years, mergers and purchases would cause Thomas B. Jeffery Co. to change hands and names many times. Nash Motors, Nash-Kelvinator, American Motors Corporation (AMC), Chrysler, and DaimlerChrysler AG all have a place in Kenosha’s history.
In 1988, automobile assembly ended in Kenosha with engine assembly continuing until 2010. To this day, Kenoshans are proud of the city’s automobile manufacturing legacy. Fortunately, this enormous piece of our community’s history is preserved and celebrated by the Kenosha History Center. Museum exhibits — including cars on display like the 1902/3 Rambler Model C and 1917 Jeffery Model 671 — detail Kenosha’s automotive and industrial heritage.
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The Kenosha Homecoming Car Show is limited to vehicles that have a connection to Kenosha. Vehicles permitted to be on display during the show are:- Jeffery
- Nash
- Ajax
- Lafayette after the 1921 acquisition by Charles Nash
- Hudson
- Rambler
- AMC
- AMC cars assembled from kits around the world, notables include AMI (Australia), Karman (Germany), and NMA (South Africa)
- VAM Lerma
- IKA Torino
- Iranian Ramblers by Sherkate Sahami and Pars Khodro and Iran Jeep
- Winther Motors Company, Winther Motor Truck Company (cars and trucks)
- Earl Motor Car Company (of Milwaukee and Kenosha, not Earl Motor Manufacturing Company of Jackson, MI)
- Petrel Motor Car Company
- Jeep, 1970-1987
- Jeeps with AMC or Kenosha-made engines
- IH vehicles with AMC engines
- AMC-engined race cars
- AM General products
- M422 Mighty Mite
- Peter Pirsch & Sons fire vehicles
- Renault Fuego, Le Car, 18i, and Sportwagon as imported by AMC
- Renault Alliance, Encore, 1988 Medallion, Premier, and GTA
- Badger Brass True Cycle Car
- Willard and Arnold Steam Car
- Eugol Truck
- 1974 Bricklin SV-1
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The City of Kenosha has been working with partners for several years to plan for redevelopment of the former AMC/Chrysler site. The 107-acre site between 52nd and 60th Streets, east of 30th Avenue has seen all buildings demolished, extensive environmental remediation completed, and the first buildings constructed and opened. This is now the Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood. Learn more HERE>Meanwhile, the area that the lakeside plant was in has become HarborPark. A neighborhood more than a park, it’s the epicenter of Kenosha’s beautifully redeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline, encompassing 69 acres and offering an abundance of public activities. Learn more HERE>
