HRMINI

Just wanted to invite you all to:

Southeast MINIPALOOZA
September 26-27, 2009
Westbend Vineyards. Lewisville, NC
event website: www.minipalooza.zoomshare.com

Hey gang, start spreading the word about an event that is going to be a HUGE gathering of new and classic Minis! Please visit the event website and pass on the link to a friend. There's no reason not to expect 200+ Minis in attendance.

The event kicks off with the Mini Miglia which is a really fun drive which will start near Old Salem in Winston-Salem, and will take you through the historic Moravian villages of Old Salem, Bethabara, and Bethania. You will also be put on some nice twisty country roads that will lead you to the winery.

Minis will be displayed on the lawn of the 1850's farmhouse and inside the entrance gate. The event will feature live music, vendors row, wine tastings, coloring contest for the kids, a raffle, and more. Profits from the raffle will go to The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Event t-shirts will be for sale at the registration tent.

Please register when you get a chance (see the registration page on the website). By registering you will let me know how many cars to plan for and I will also be able to email blast all participants with important updates as the event gets closer.

Event is FREE :038:
Food for sale on site
No outside alcohol permitted.

Any questions, just ask,
Scott Sturdy
scottsturdy@yahoo.com

Thanks for posting Scott - that sounds like a blast.
Will have to check it out more when we get back from playing in the leaves.   :icon_razz:
A lot closer than the Dragon too.  :023:

Sounds like fun. Will keep it on our list for next year.

Definately!  I love a weekend getaway!  I've added it to our social calendar.  :023: (hopefully autox won't conflict)

 :023:  yea this looks great... :106:

Looks like we are in for this one.

By the way, I can't respond to anything on this site now that I have IE version 8.  I had to use Firefox to post this.

Sounds like fun and it's right before my birthday. I'll be signing up and putting that on my calendar.

Sounds like a great time to be had by all!  That's waaaaaaaaaaay to far out for me to even consider planning yet, but I've put it in my calendar!

Praises! I wasn't the only one!  I had trouble too and posted somewhere on this here site bout the troubles. I had the same problem at work so I just uninstalled the whole thing.  :053:

Great, another version of IE that doesn't work right.  We still haven't gotten IE 7 to work right at work.  I can only imagine all the issues IE 8 will pose.

Can we add this to the calendar?

Man, I was one of the first to register for this event......but.......it looks like Micky & MINI's in Orlando is going to be the same weekend. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal. But I've heard so many good things about Micky & MNI's I think I'll have to pass on MINIPALOOZA in Carolina for a gathering in Orlando.

Dale, please start a thread on Mickey & Mini's and let us know what it is ALL about.

 MINIplaooza schedule update:

SATURDAY Sept. 26th
9:30AM MINI MIGLIA drive starts in Old Salem in Winston-Salem, and will end up at Westbend Vineyards in Lewisville,NC. At the winery there will be live music, vendors, wine tasting , and winery tours. There will also be food available (see below)

SUNDAY Sept. 27th
8:30 Complimentary breakfast for MINI owners at FLOW BMW/MINI in Winston-Salem. After breakfast we will do a scenic drive up to VIR and we will get to do parade laps on the track during the noon racing break.

BY REGISTERING you will be eligable for the $10 per person lunch ticket that includes lunch and a glass of wine. BY NOT REGISTERING, you will have to pay $20 per person for lunch on the day of the event.
Either way, you will pay for lunch at the gate since Westbend Vineyards is taking care of all of this. HOWEVER you do not have to pay if you do not want to eat lunch, but trust me , the winery is out in the country and there's no other restaurant around for miles.

Go to the website for the link to registration, directions, detailed schedule and more: www.minipalooza.zoomshare.com

If you are interested in being a volunteer at this event please let me know. I will need helpers at the start of the drives and parking cars at the winery.

Also need raffle donations so we can do a raffle if possible. profits will benefit the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

see ya soon,
Scott Sturdy - scottsturdy@yahoo.com  :039:

This is a GREAT excuse for a weekend away! I am going....

Hey Gang, if y'all don't have anything to do this weekend, Ttis would be a decent excuse to head south. Even if the event bombs, hanging out with the Tar Heel guys is always a hoot. I plan on heading down Friday afternoon or so. With the added lap at VIR I count that as a plus.

BTW, does anyone know Kevin Duvall, Wes Major or Randy Leaman? Kevin is from NN, Wes from Wmbg and Randy is from Windsor. They're registered for the event, but the names don't ring a bell with me.

Registered. Depends on what kind of spending money I have if I go or not. But I registered for maybe.  :wink:

Anyone else have any thoughts about going to this event? I'll be heading down there and handing out more Fall Colors Run flyers. They have since added a lunchtime lap at VIR as an added benefit.

At the moment they have 120+ MINI/Mini's registered. Sounds like fun!

MINIpalooza (http://www.minipalooza.zoomshare.com/)

I thought about it cause it sounds like so much fun, but we need to make an appearance at Dave's hunt club picnic and Turkey Shoot on Saturday.    :icon_frown:

Well, we're down here in Winston-Salem. Rained most of the way down but got here okay. Had to find a car wash, even though it's raining. It'll be clean for the start of the drive anyway. BTW, it's a bear finding a do it yourself car wash down here!

Tomorrow is the MINI Miglia drive up to Pilot mountain then the drive over to the Westbend (?) Vineyards. The afternoon is reserved for downtown historic Salem and dinner at a restaurant until 7. After that (weather permitting) is a drive in movie at Flow MINI on a inflatable movie screen. Of course it's the Italian job. The new one I think.

Sunday we caravan up to VIR for a pace lap. I'm letting Regina drive. if we can't go fast, why drive at all, right?

Photos will follow as will videos from the go pro camera!

Now lets just do the "no rain" dance!

Sounds like a BLAST !  Have a great time and wishing we were there  :icon_sad:

Day one down. As was the rain, down, as in coming down ALL day! Not bad until about 6 or so, but a good steady sprinkle/mist. The day started out in historic Salem. Very similar to Colonial Williamsburg. Very interesting, same basic stuff as Williamsburg, but just a different feel. I can't really explain. After the organizer, Scott Sturdy, had his drivers meeting, we broke off into groups of 10 or so MINI's to start the days trek. I wound up 4th in line with our buddy Susan from Tar Heel MINI's behind me. as we read off the directions the three MINI's in front of me got off at the wrong exit off Rte 52. Funny, the guy leading just wanted to go thru McDonalds. He seriously had no idea the rest of us would follow! At that point I took over the lead of our pack. No more wrong turns for my group! Christy and Regina did do a good job of navigating the directions and making mileage corrections for our extra excursion.

We found some really nice twisties, some I remembered from the Bull Frog Run we did with Tar Heel back in the spring. Good roads down here for sure! After about 80+ miles of some of NC's best curves, we ended up at the Westbend Vineyard. Very nice place and after tasting some of their wines we went and line up for the food. That wasn't bad either. I must say our buddies up at Cooper Vineyard do a bit better at putting on an event. Granted it's a bit more (this was free) but ya only got to taste three wines with your free glass. Cooper gives ya a taste of all of their wines. They had a band playing that provided some nice background sounds. Kind of jazzy with a few pop songs thrown in. At 3 PM they let the band take a break and started the raffle drawing. I was lucky enough to win a bucket full of Mothers products for detailing. That was probably the best prize there, or at least the one that attracted most of my attention.  

Dinner plans had arranged for a meet up at the Foothill Brewery restaurant. we drove down there, but it's in downtown Winston Salem and only had street side parking. There were MINI's lined up both sides of the road. About the time we were there the heavens decided to rid itself of any excess moisture. We decided not to risk getting swept away in the deluge and opted for alternate diner plans.

Sunday starts out at breakfast at Flow MINI at 8:30 and then a drive up to VIR starting at 9:30 for a parade lap. Hoping for better weather tomorrow! We shall see!

Some pics from one of Tar Heel's guys are here (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=174098&id=1376357604&l=7609acd77a)

 It looked alittle wet. :103: Looks like everyone was having a good time despite the rain, wish we could have gone.

Wow, back home in Poquoson! What a weekend. As wet as it was Saturday, today made up for it in spades! After meeting up at Flow MINI in Winston Salem for breakfast. (good coffee, not so great OJ) We had a chance to spek to a bunch of MINI owners waiting for saddle up and head out on the days adventure. Just as we got in the MINI's to head out on our way to VIR, the sun came out. What a great start to the day!

There are a couple of stop lights to negotiate before we got on I 40 headed east. Well, Flow arranged for a couple of Winston Salem's finest to block traffic for us. With 47 MINI's headed east, I look in the mirror and see a police vehicle headed up behind us with lights flashing. "No big deal", I think and keep on motoring along with everyone else. As he passes us he gets in front of organizer Scott Sturdy and lo and behold, we now have a police escort on I 40! How cool is that? As we headed east I see a red Justa Cooer on the side of I 40. I noticed it was Tar Heel member Mr. Magoo, so I ease off the gas and let him in. He wasn't able to make it to Flow, but knew the route. He decided to wait on the side of the road until he saw a giant conga line of MINI's and joined in. Once we got to the road heading north we exited the Interstate and hit the two lane. There was some beautiful scenery along the way. Much better than the two pigs in the 3X5 trailer being pulled along the Interstate. (seriously, I got pics!)

Once at VIR we sign the waiver and get lined up for our lap. As it turns out, we got 4 laps! Of course we did have to follow a R32 VW, but 4 free laps, yeah I'll do that! It's been probably 3 or 4 years since I was on VIR and this was the full course. All I had done was two schools on the North course. The Clubman did pretty well for a totally stock car with total street settings. I'd have loved to have had Tyler's MCS there! I did still remember some of the lines on the North course though. If they'd have just allowed passing!....

Talk about a great way to wrap up a really cool weekend! With the rain on the way down Friday and most of Saturday, I still had a great time. The Westbend Vineyard was very nice and it was amazing how many MINI'Mini's showed up. Good food, good band, and lots and lots of cool owners of our favorite British cars. It was good seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. I handed out about 30 flyers for the Fall Colors Run and had lots of people express interest.

Hopefully this event will happen next year. If it does, I WILL be there and would suggest as many as possible tag along.

Pics to follow asap!

Sounds like it was a really good time, and thanks for the reports !!  WOW,  A police escort  :101: WAY COOL !. Glad you all had fun and made it home safely !!!

Got pics up! Here's a link to all of 'em:
http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/

And a few of my favorites
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo573.jpg)
MINI's lined up both sides of the street in both directions

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo571.jpg)
Drivers meeting before heading off to the Vineyard

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo596.jpg)
Part of what 85 MINI/Mini's looks like in the rain

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo589.jpg)
One of my new favorite MINIs

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo613.jpg)
Yes, those are all MINI's, and we were 11 more ahead of me!

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo599.jpg)
At the Vineyard

Day 2 Flow MINI at breakfast to VIR

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo602.jpg)
Flow MINI, Duh! Great place, great people!

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo603.jpg)
One side of the line at Flow

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo621.jpg)
On the grid at VIR

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo622.jpg)
ON VIR

(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g119/maacodale/MINIpalooza%2009/photo623.jpg)
Stopped on the front straight at VIR for a group pic. One of the 4 laps we had!

Great pictures Dale. But I can't log into your account on Photobucket to see the rest of them. :022:

Hmm, thought that was set to public. Will work on that!

edit:
Got the Photobucket profile set back to public. Must have changed for some reason???? Good to go now.

Dale, thank you so much for posting pics!!  I am so anxious to get to one of these events!!  I just need to get my work schedule to cooperate with me.

Great pic's Dale. Thanks for posting them  :023:  Looks like it was a good time despite the rainy weather. Maybe next year ....

Woohoo, lots of great pics.  :045:  THANKS for sharing with those of us that weren't there.  Looks like a great time was missed.