Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival Butler, PA Aug.12-14, 2011
The guys from BDS took that familiar cruise along I-80 from Coldwater, MI to Butler, PA to hang out with Meridian Off Road Center at the 1st Annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival this past weekend. Hosted by Butler Country, this historic event was nothing short of amazing as well over 1000 Jeeps of all years, sizes, shapes, and pedigrees inundated the area and held the largest Jeep parade in history. Butler is the known as the birthplace of the Jeep, where back around 1940 the Bantam Car Company won the bid to manufacture a small light-weight 4WD vehicle to aid in the war efforts.
BDS made it early and set up in the vendor area next to our local distributor, Meridian Off Road Center, a local 4×4 shop to Butler, PA offering top-notch service with over 27 years of experience. Throughout the weekend BDS talked to customers, showed off some of our latest products like the new Fox 2.0 Performance Series Shocks, and took part in the various festival activities. Friday night was the parade and cruise, followed by by vendor show on Saturday and Sunday at the fairgrounds where they they also had a live demonstrations like the Jiffy Jeep Build (see video), how-to clinics, live concerts throughout the weekend, on site obstacle course and trail rides, show ‘n shine contest, kids playground, Jeep heritage exhibit, tons of raffle prizes, fireworks, and so much more. Meridian also held scheduled trail rides out at the 4×4 Outback Adventure trails in Eau Claire, PA 30 Rob and the crew form Meridian held killer deals throughout the weekend on everything from BDS lift kits, Warn winches, Mickey Thompson tires, and Jeep accessories keeping the booth buzzing on Saturday as Jeepers flocked to the fairgrounds to take part in this inaugural event. An early Sunday morning rain and overcast conditions limited attendance until the afternoon on Sunday as everyone came out to find great last minute deals on the perfect accessories for the beloved Jeeps. All in all we had a blast out at the event; all the volunteers and the Butler Country Tourism did an amazing job organizing the event, and Meridian Off Road Center went above and beyond to make this event a memorable experience for everyone attending. If you missed the event, don’t worry, there are already plans in the works for next year and we can’t wait to take that drive again!
Jiffy Jeep Teardown and Rebuild: