by Ezabelle Janssen, Staff Writer

PASS CHRISTIAN (GG) — The Pass Christian Harbor roared awake Saturday, November 22nd, as ponies lined the waterfront for the Mississippi Coast Mustang Club’s 45th Anniversary Fall Festival Open Car Show. For the first time, the long-running event unfolded at the Pass Christian harbor, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., the piers transformed into a Ford-flavored festival of music, raffles, families, and charity. 

Combining horsepower and heart, the event went beyond the hood. Attendees arrived with unwrapped toys for the USMC Toys for Tots drive, filling bin after bin: “We were able to raise $350 plus dollars for charity as well as filling up three tubs for Toys for Tots,” said Club President Tim Langdon. 

For the club, community support is not a seasonal act; it’s the engine. Langdon explained that the Mustang Club hosts two major shows each year, in April and November, plus summer cruise-ins at Edgewater Mall, where music, trivia, and 50/50 raffles help fuel the group’s charity work.

“Our portion goes to the charities we choose every year, typically Make-A-Wish has been a constant one, Pink Heart Fund, Humane Society, and Feed My Sheep are primarily the ones we concentrate on,” he said. “Last year, we contributed $4,000, $1,000 to each of those charities.” 

Various attendees left with coveted trophies; amongst them was Jerry Louviere with his 1966 Pontiac GTO, which won Best of the 1960s.

“I won the best ’60s. Best of 1960s,” Louviere said, grinning beside the shining white GTO with many modifications, “Some of the big ones are the entire motor has been redone. It’s been built up to be a little beefier motor. It was bored and stroked, with all-new internals, racing heads, and all that. Plus, it’s backed by an M22 rock crusher transmission super duty.So it’s got all-wheel disc brakes on it, which they didn’t have in ’66.” A frequent and proud winner, “It feels pretty good,” said Louviere. “We usually win something almost every time.”

Anyone would feel like a winner with that ride. 

A historic club that is returning to its roaring glory days. In November 1980, Mustang enthusiast Jack Wilbanks placed an ad in the local paper calling for fellow Mustang owners. Over 40 Mustangs arrived that day, some traveling from Louisiana and Alabama.

By February 1981, the club had become a Chartered Regional Group of the Mustang Club of America. By 1986, they were a chartered Mississippi nonprofit. 

Langdon said, “We have hosted in the past, in the 80s and up to 2004 National Mustang shows. We still have the Grand National shows. The club has given away raffle cars. In the mid-80s,

they raffled off two cars. That’s similar to what other people do. And we are planning to do a national show in 2027 at the IP, so we’re making preps for that.” 

Cars draw in crowds on the coast, but charity keeps them coming back. From the roar of engines to the rustle of toy donations, the Mustang Club’s 45th anniversary reminded the Coast that a community with heart-power can run for generations.

(Photos by Ezabelle Janssen/The Gazebo Gazette)