As you know, the Mustang was born on April 17, 1964, and a few years back that birthday became National Mustang Day. We can’t think of a more worthy day to celebrate and enthusiasts all over the world did just that in big and small ways. Many of those gatherings occurred the weekend before the big day, but a great one took place at the Ace Café in Orlando, Florida, on the actual day.

This was amazing. It was so much bigger than I ever anticipated. — Larry Beach, Event Organizer

“There was an opportunity. No one was doing a birthday party, so it needed to be done. It’s just that simple,” event organizer Larry Beach told us. “My point of view is that there are a lot of just normal car shows, so I feel like I need to do something different, something fresh to involve the younger generation. And this was really an attempt to do something different than we had done before.”

In short order, Larry put together the concept of gathering one of each model year at the motoring-themed eatery for a real birthday party right down to a themed cake. Your scribe made the trip out to the event and participated in a Q&A session with other experienced members of the media. It was great seeing such a wide range of vehicles, rubbing elbows with true enthusiasts, and of course, having a slice of cake.

“This was amazing. It was so much bigger than I ever anticipated,” Larry added. “It obviously needs to be done again next year, so we will do it again.”

There you have it. Look for another big event at the Ace next year for the Mustang’s 55^th anniversary. Until then, check out our coverage of this year’s event, including a full photo gallery below…

More than 12 Mustang fans from Denmark, all dressed in red shirts, were on hand for the celebration in Orlando.