BARABOO, WI – While it’s true that the month of October is primarily know for Halloween, it also happens to be known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, not just in the United States but globally as well. All month long, all sorts of cancer awareness campaigns take place focusing on early detection, diagnosis, and treatment for breast cancer, with events and initiatives aimed at educating the public and raising funds for research on how to fight this deadly disease. The Ford and Mustang enthusiast community has long been a part of this effort, with countless vehicle clubs engaged in hosting car shows and events geared to raise money to support a variety of cancer charities.
Perhaps the best-known of such efforts is the annual “Fall Ford Fest” event held during the first full weekend of October in the Wisconsin Dells area. Each year, “Cruise for a Cause” founders
Dan and Linda Neve attend Ford events across the country and ask attendees for support in their cancer research fundraising mission by selling T-shirts and chances to win a special Ford Mustang that is raffled off at the event banquet each fall. Early this month, Dan and his Cruise for A Cause 501c 3 non-profit celebrated its 15th annual Fall Ford Fest, and the Ford Performance Club Connect program was there to lend a hand.
Held in Baraboo, Wisconsin, this year’s Cruise for a Cause Fall Ford Fest ran from October 1st through the 5th at the HO Chunk Wisconsin Dells host hotel. The event features a wide selection of Ford vehicles from across the country to take part in a fun-filled extended weekend of activities, culminating with Saturday’s main events that included a car show, music, food trucks, speed runs, a parade route and much more -- not to mention the awards dinner and the big charity prize raffle. Easily the best thing about the Fest beyond the road tours or the track day, with hot laps at Dells Raceway, or the autocross and dyno-pulls, is that it all helps support the fight against cancer.
Club Connect helped kick off the event with an opening Meet & Greet presentation by Mustang author / columnist John Clor, the Enthusiast Communications Manager for Ford Racing, and his co-host on the Mustang Owner’s Podcast, Mustang hobby guru Mike Rey. What’s more, after the duo talked Mustangs and handed out free Mustang posters at the Club Connect display tent on show day, they hosted a special Town Hall-style “Ask Us Anything” live recording session for the Mustang Owner’s Podcast after dinner at the banquet. That was all just before the event’s big silent and live auctions, where Dan – in a partnership with Vaughn Gittin Jr. – raffled off a Spec 2 RTR Mustang, complete with a supercharger, custom leather interior, carbon-fiber hood and decklid, special lighting and a one-of-a-kind graphics package. The winner was Brian Pinter of Eloy, Arizona – but the bigger winner was the Marshfield Clinic’s Cancer Research Foundation who received proceeds from the event, which pushed Dan’s cumulative total to nearly $1.4 million in donations since he first founded Cruise for a Cause.
You can check out the banquet’s Mustang Owner’s Podcast recording session HERE: 2025 Cruise For a Cause Town Hall and get a sample look at some of the 220-plus cars at the show in our photo gallery below. For more info on this year’s event and what to expect at next year’s Fall Ford Fest, you can visit https://crusie4acause.org
FORD RACING PHOTOS / COURTESY JOHN CLOR
