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Performance Diving Experience at Iowa Speedway – Thurs. Aug. 15th

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This is not an official CIMC event, but the Des Moines Valley Region Sports Car Club of America (DMVR SCCA) is having their last Performance Driving Experience (PDX) of the year on August 15th at the Iowa Speedway in Newton.  Sounds like a lot of fun!

MINIs On The Mac – August 3, 2013 – drive from DSM to St. Ignace, MI

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MINIs On The Mac

As you know, there will be an attempt to set a new Guinness Book of World Records mark for the most MINIs/Mini Coopers in a parade at the Straits of Mackinac Bridge on Saturday, August 3. The goal is to have at least 1,451 cars, and one lane of the bridge itself will be closed to all traffic EXCEPT the MINI/Mini parade.

This is going to be one of the largest gatherings of MINIs in the world, and will certainly be the largest such gathering ever for the U.S. If you’re a MINIac like me (Roger Sitterly), that makes this an absolute “must-do” event, so I’ve already registered. Now, I’ll be working with contacts in Nebraska and Iowa to see if we can assemble a single caravan of Nebraska/Iowa owners for the trip to northern Michigan.

Tentatively, the route to get there would be through Green Bay, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan so that registration packets can be picked up in St. Ignace on the way to participants’ motels Friday night without the need to cross the bridge to get them (and then, perhaps, cross it again to get to a motel in Mackinaw City). The total distance from Des Moines  to Mackinaw City (no matter how you get there) is between 690 and 725 miles, so tentative plans are to take two days to do the drive. This will be especially important if the caravan includes owners from Nebraska who will have an additional 130 or more miles to drive the first day just to get to Des Moines.

The event is now about four weeks away, and those who plan to attend should be making motel reservations quickly because area lodging are filling up. If anyone who plans to attend would like to join in a caravan to the area, please let me know as quickly as possible – an email will work just fine rogersitterly @  yahoo.com you can call me in Des Moines at 515 – 270 – 8095. Having some idea of how many people will be joining in a caravan will help us plan the route in terms of necessary stops along the way.

The deadline for early registration (with a discount) is July 19. The $25 early registration fee includes your bridge toll for the event, an antenna topper, lunch on August 3 in St. Ignace, admission to the music festival and some local swag. Cars will begin assembling in Mackinaw City Saturday morning, August 3 at 7:30 a.m., and departure for the parade across the bridge will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. After crossing of the bridge, lunch, entertainment, and contests will be held in St. Ignace, with a music festival scheduled from 4:00 to 11:00 p.m. In addition, there will be a fireworks show at dusk.

Here’s a link to the information and registration page. http://www.miniofgrandrapids.com/News

I’ll be at the club picnic July 13, and will be available to discuss potential routing and caravan issues. And if you have any questions, please feel free to call me.

Rock n’ Pie Drive – August 3, 2013

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Kelly Alliss is putting together a tasty drive out to see the Freedom Rock in Menlo with a stop for some mmm mmm good tasty pie, too.

Rock n’ Pie Drive – 8/3/2013

Meet at MINI of Des Moines around 8:30am, departure time of  9 am
Drive route of approximately 80 miles
Passing Through:
Waukee – Adel – Redfield – Dexter – Stuart (part of  the WhitePole Road Route)
Head North to Panora
West to Gurthrie Center
South to the Freedom Rock
East into Menlo

Stop for lunch and homemade pie at the Menlo Café.  In addition to pie the café has great home cooked food and ginormous tenderloins (will shoot to stop between 11 and 11:30)
Then about 40 miles back to Des Moines via I-80

You know you want to go! RSVP here or on the CIMC Facebook page so Kelly knows to expect you. Now for the big decision – Which variety of pie(s) to order?

UPDATE about Saturday’s event

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The event starts at 10AM in Indianola. Scott Paulson is planning to stop at MINI of Des Moines at 8:45 am for anyone that wants to caravan, leaving around 9 am.
There will also be a raffle for a club T-shirt for members attending the Greenwood Revival event. You’ll put your name in a hat and we’ll pull a name to see who takes it home.

Swamp Fox Parade – Marion, IA – Saturday, September 7, 2013

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It’s time to start thinking about another trip over to Marion, IA to showcase our wonderful cars, have a bit of fun, and get some quality time on the road. To learn more about the event, visit the Marion, IA events page regularly for updates.

If you’d like to participate, here are a few things to know:

  • Meet up no later than 8:30 AM (or earlier if you want to clean up your car) at the car wash across the street from a mini-mall at the intersection of South 11th Street and Grand Ave.
  • Get there via highway 100 (Marion bypass), turn off at East Post Road, go North about 3 blocks.  East Post turns into South 11th Street.
  • Highway 100 is Collins Road from the West, and from the East it intersects highway 13/151.
  • Staging point for the parade is two blocks from meet up point.
  • DUE TO LIABILITY ISSUES: Each car must be registered through me no later than August 16, 2012.  I will submit all the registrations at the same time in insure that we will all be together.
  • Our registration (group) will be assigned Entry Numbers, which is our position in the parade.  I will pass them out at the meeting point.
  • We must be in position no later than 9:30 AM.
  • Parade starts at 10:15 AM.
  • Candy is encouraged however they discourage throwing it from the cars/floats/entries because of the danger of children running into the road to retrieve it.
  • This year we escort “Miss Eastern Iowa MINI’s 2013” who will be riding in Steve & Bobbi’s Convertible.  She is Rebecca Darling from Tipton, IA.

Please RSVP to Larry Hoffman through the Central Iowa MINI Club’s event’s page (preferred!) or via the contact page link above.

THIS weekend, a new event – Greenwood Revival

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THIS Saturday – June 8, 2013 – from 10:00am until 4:00pm, is the 50th anniversary of Greenwood Roadway‘s first race!

There will be a Car Show, Parade Laps of some truly spectacular cars, and seminars about a variety of topics related to Iowa’s original, premier racetrack.

Where: 16299 Quebec St, Indianola, Iowa 50125
(I am told this is a short distance off the highway and includes maybe a half mile of gravel road. Persnickety  drivers have been warned.)

The event starts at 10AM in Indianola. Scott Paulson is planning to stop at MINI of Des Moines at 8:45 am for anyone that wants to caravan, leaving around 9 am.
There will also be a raffle for a club T-shirt for members attending the Greenwood Revival event. You’ll put your name in a hat and we’ll pull a name to see who takes it home.

You can find more event info at the Greenwood Revival website and Facebook Page

The Central Iowa MINI Club has a few members attending, so if you’re looking to travel over as part of the group be sure to RSVP there. Regardless, it is probably a good idea to RSVP on the official FB Event Page.

Articles of Additional Interest –
Iowa British Car Club visit to Greenwood in 2008
Greenwood may have inspired a Gran Turismo track

Don’t forget about this month’s drive!

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James Flowers is hosting the May drive next weekend, May 18th.

For those in the Des Moines area, Jeremy Moyle will be putting together a caravan from MINI of Des Moines to Bethany. Route yet to be decided. He is considering going down Hwy 65/69. More to come later this week on the Facebook account. Right now he is expecting to leave MINI of DM between 8 and 8:15am on Saturday. If you have not RSVP’d yet please do so by responding to this email or via the Facebook page.

EDIT: Update from Jeremy

I will be leading a caravan leaving from Mini of DM between 8 and 8:15 heading down Hwy 69.  It will be a 2 hr and 45 minute trip to Bethany.  I will have a couple sheets of directions to hand out before we leave.  I will also have two Motorola Talkabout FR60 radios so bring a handheld radio if you have one.

CIMC Window Clings

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imageYou know you want one.

I’ve got one sitting behind the driver’s seat on The Green Lantern and it makes me smile every time I see it.

For $10, you can add one to your MINI, support the CIMC (all proceeds go to help with Club expenses), and will be available at all club events/meetings.

If you get a chance, please thank our President, Scott Paulson, for taking care of the design and fronting the initial cost to have them printed.

April 20-21, 2013 – Photo Scavenger Hunt in the Des Moines area

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Pick the day that works for you: Saturday or Sunday, April 20th or 21st, 2013
Join us for a Photo Scavenger Hunt in the Des Moines Metro area.

Beginning at 2 pm on both days, you will meet up with Jeremy Moyle at MINI of Des Moines and be given a list of phrases with one word missing.

Your job is to figure out the missing word and then photograph it on any sign, building, etc that you find in the area.  There is a strict 2 hour time limit.
Return to MINI of Des Moines when you have all the answers, or by 4 pm at the latest. Jeremy and crew will tally the results to see who comes out on top.

Example:  Pillsbury Doughboy – Poppin ______
E.g., Take a picture of a Subway sign, highlighting the word Fresh in your picture

Don’t forget that Willis is also having their Spring Cleaning Sales event (and maybe a new buyer car clinic on the 20th) so the sales staff will probably be really busy on Saturday and therefore less chatty than usual.