A nearly half-century tradition of Sunday events in Brighton has been saved after the City of Brighton and the Kiwanis Club of Brighton agreed on a new home for its concerts and classic cars series.
Beginning Aug. 2, the Kiwanis Concerts and Car Show will take place at the SELCRA Meijer Park at 333 Charles H. Orndorf Drive, with parking available at Meijer, the Brighton District Library, and the post office, with limited handicap parking at SELCRA Meijer Park.
The popular concert series had been held at the Mill Pond Gazebo (and later the AMP) until four years ago when Brighton’s Main Street upgrades limited the classic car parking on the street, and the free the City of Brighton was charging to close Main Street. In 2023, the concerts moved to Brighton High School, which provided great onsite parking, convenient rest rooms, and room for 225 classic cars.
The Kiwanis Club cancelled the concert series for this year after an agreement between the Pine Creek Homeowners Association and the Brighton Area Schools came to light. That agreement prohibited non-school events on Sundays in the athletic field area. The agreement was made in 2011 to allow for the expansion fo the current football field and support areas.
In a joint statement, the City of Brighton and the Kiwanis Club said they are “committed to working together to provide high-quality community events while ensuring public safety, accessibility, and a positive experience for residents and visitors alike.”
Editor’s note: We are printing the joint statement of the City of Brighton and the Kiwanis Club of Brighton in its entirety.
The City of Brighton and the Kiwanis Club of Brighton are issuing a joint statement to address misinformation circulating on social media regarding the Kiwanis Club Sunday Concerts and Car Shows and to announce the new location for this summer.
The misinformation appears to have originated from a viral video that contained inaccurate information about the history and relocation of these community events. Unfortunately, neither the City of Brighton nor the Kiwanis Club was contacted to verify the facts prior to the video’s publication.
The City of Brighton and the Kiwanis Club have enjoyed a longstanding and productive partnership dedicated to enhancing the community. Recent collaborative efforts include the Kiwanis Club Story Walk on the Tridge and the Kiwanis Club sponsored American flags displayed along Main Street. Both organizations wish to ensure that residents have accurate information regarding the evolution of the Sunday Concerts and Car Shows.
Prior to the 2023 Streetscape Project, the Kiwanis Car Show had already begun to outgrow its downtown location as Main Street was able to accommodate approximately 100 vehicles; however, the event has grown in popularity and regularly attracts between 200 and 250 participating vehicles.
In addition to space limitations, hosting the event on Main Street created logistical challenges. The street was closed to vehicle traffic during the event to ensure pedestrian safety, requiring all participating vehicles to arrive before the road closure and remain until the event concluded. Many car show participants found these restrictions inconvenient, as they were unable to enter or exit the event freely.
During the 2023 Streetscape Project, the concerts and car shows were temporarily relocated to the Brighton High School parking lot due to construction activities downtown. Following the move, the Kiwanis Club found the high school location to be a better fit for the event and decided to continue at that location. The high school provided significantly more space, eliminated the need to close a public roadway, offered more convenient parking for attendees, and allowed participants the flexibility to arrive and depart throughout the evening.
Since relocating to Brighton High School, the Kiwanis Club has not requested a return to downtown Main Street and has not submitted a civic event application seeking to host theconcerts and car shows in the downtown at the Mill Pond. The city would welcome a future application should the Kiwanis Club wish to return to Main Street.
Questions have also been raised regarding event-related costs. In 2019, the Brighton City Council began discussing the increasing expenses and the burden on the taxpayers associated with providing Department of Public Works and Police staffing for downtown civic events. The Council adopted a phased cost-sharing approach under which all civic event organizers would gradually assume responsibility for 50 percent of the staffing costs over a three-year period beginning in 2020. Due to the disruptions and challenges created by COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, implementation of the program was delayed until 2022.
Cost sharing arrangements for civic events are common among municipalities, and the City of Howell similarly requires event organizers to cover 50 percent of event related staffing costs.
With the loss of Brighton High School as a location, Kiwanis identified the SELCRA Meijer Park as a possible location. City staff began actively working to expand opportunities for the Kiwanis Club Concerts and Car Shows by updating the allowable occupancy use at the SELCRA Meijer Park property located behind Meijer in Brighton. Additionally, the Kiwanis Club and SELCRA worked collaboratively to make this opportunity possible by coordinating with Meijer, St. Patrick Catholic School, the Brighton District Library, and the Brighton Post Office.
We are pleased to announce that the Kiwanis Concerts and Car Show have found a home at SELCRA Meijer Park located at 333 Charles H. Orndorf Drive.
Car Show – 5:30pm; Music -6:30-8:30pm
August 2 – Magic Bus
August 9 – Billy Mack and the Juke Joint Johnnies
Aug 16 – Persuasion Band
August 23 – Allentown, Bill Joel Tribute
Parking will be available at Meijer, the Brighton District Library, and the Post Office, with limited handicapped parking at SELCRA Meijer Park.
The City of Brighton and the Kiwanis Club remain committed to working together to provide high-quality community events while ensuring public safety, accessibility, and a positive experience for residents and visitors alike.
