Music & Motors, which will feature live music and a cruise-in, will be presented by the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Library and Research Center on Saturday, Sept. 11, from noon to 5 p.m. Activities will take place at the new AACA Library and Research Center building at 800 W. Hersheypark Drive, Hershey.

Ticket holders will be able to listen to live local bands in concert, including Observe the 93rd, Hot and Dangerous, Lives Lost, Cody Kilburn and the Ben Ginder Group. The bands will perform on a stage set up at the site, with professional sound provided by Hershey AV Solutions.

The day will also include food trucks and craft vendors, and attendees will have a chance to win prizes, including gift baskets and gift cards to local restaurants and hair salons.

Local vehicle owners are encouraged to participate in the cruise-in. "We (welcome) hot rods motorcycles, sports cars and muscle cars," said Tanis Pellegrini, library assistant and event organizer. "This is not an AACA-sanctioned event. It's a way for people to show their cars and enjoy the music."

Preregistration for the cruise-in is encouraged; space will be limited. Those who register in advance will receive a discount. For more information or to register, visit http://www.aacalibrary.org/music-motors.

Pellegrini explained that the Library and Research Center was previously located on West Governor Road in Hershey. Beginning in October 2020, the contents of the library as well as the display cars had to be moved to the new location. "When we moved into the building, it was completely gutted and renovated," he noted. "We knocked out walls, so it looks much more open."

The building is currently not open to the public, but small groups have been allowed to visit. A grand opening ceremony is planned for October.

Currently, the library includes nearly 2 million pieces of sales literature, photographs and owner's manuals and more than 6,500 reference books. "We have books dating back to the 1880s - the early years of cars," Pellegrini stated. "We are America's automotive library."

The display cars include an 1895 Duryea Replica, which is featured on the Library and Research Center logo; a 1909 Studebaker Electric Suburban Stanhope; a 1908 Oldsmobile Limited Prototype; and a Comuta-Car. "The Comuta-Car was an electric car manufactured in the late 1970s and early '80s based off of a golf cart design in response to the oil crisis of the '70s and America's need for a green energy car," Pellegrini explained.

Pellegrini hopes the upcoming event will attract both car enthusiasts and new visitors. "We're hoping people come out and get a renewed interest in our automotive history," he stated. "I don't think the average person realizes how important automotive history is to America."

Pellegrini, who is a member of Lives Lost, an alternative rock band, came up with the concept of Music & Motors, which he said was wholeheartedly supported by the library staff members. "It combines my hobby with my professional life," he said.

For tickets and more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/AACALibrary or http://www.aacalibrary.org.