Since 2011, the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival has evolved into one of the nation’s premier Jeep-only events. Yet it wouldn’t have gotten here without some historic milestones along the way:

2011: After several years of planning, the first Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival got off the ground in August of 2011. To draw people to the event, Bantam set the first Guinness world record for the world’s largest Jeep parade. Exactly 1,106 Jeeps paraded through the streets of Downtown Butler to claim the record.

2012: After a tremendous inaugural success, Bantam expanded in participant numbers and capacity as Jeeps from all over the country utilized the entire Big Butler Fairgrounds venue for the second year. The larger venue still wasn’t enough as organizers quickly realized a bigger location with the ability to provide off-road trails was needed.

2013: Cooper’s Lake Campground in Slippery Rock was chosen as the new location and has remained the venue ever since. The year also marked a new date for the festival, as it moved from August to June. It was also the first time the festival expanded into a full three-day event.

2014: Bantam continued to expand as more and more Jeep activities were added, including a mud pit designed for stock vehicles, the Ride with a Guide attraction and the Historic Travels Tour. In addition, the first ever Bantam Muddy Jeep 5K was held.

2015: Celebrating the Jeep’s 75th birthday, 2015 was a pivotal year for the history of the festival. Bantam reclaimed the Guinness world record for the largest parade of Jeeps, as 2,420 vehicles drove in procession. The festival even garnered national prominence as world renowned companies Pennzoil and BF Goodrich joined on as sponsors. Jeep owners from 38 states, the most to date, joined the fun.

2016: In late 2015 a new nonprofit, the Friends of the Bantam Jeep Association (FBJA), was created to conduct the festival, and 2016 was the first year that FBJA held the event, as well as offering financial gifts to Butler County nonprofits from event proceeds. In 2016, the Bantam Night Ops Trail Ride was introduced. Since then, this nighttime trail ride has become a popular favorite among Jeepers. The Faces of Jeep Grilles display was also unveiled in the Jeep History Exhibit. The one-of-a-kind display features grilles from Jeeps past and present.

2017: A new off-site trail was first introduced and immediately became a popular hit among festivalgoers. The year also marked the first-ever Babes of Bantam Trail Ride, an exclusive ride for female Jeepers led by female guides. The inaugural Jeep’n at the Drive-In took place as hundreds of Jeeps filled a nostalgic drive-in movie theatre.

2018: Two new activities highlighted the 2018 edition of Bantam. Jeep trivia whizzes got the opportunity to test their knowledge in the new Jeepardy game. The Decorate Your Jeep competition was introduced, which gave Jeepers the chance to find ingenious and comical ways to dress up their prized vehicle.

2019: A new slate of Saturday night activities were added to Bantam in 2019. Among them were Bantam’s Rib Fest, the Festival of Lights and the Barbee Jeep Race. In addition, 2019 saw an expanded and revamped lineup of on-site trails and a new off-site trail ride.

2020: Bantam planned to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2020 but had to cancel because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, FBJA held a smaller event on the organization’s newly acquired 235 acres, called Bantam 9.5 TrailFest.

2021: In 2021, plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary were revived and feature a variety of blockbuster events, including the Bantam Building Photo Opp and the 10th Anniversary Jeep Parade and Invasion.