ESCAPE SUN PEAKS

VIR President Tim Evans

It was announced at the last Whistler event in 2019 that Canada West would be moving their annual “Escape” event to a new location. Then the pandemic hit and everything was put on hold for 2020. Late in 2020, when it looked like things were getting better, they announced the 2021 event would take place at Sun Peaks, which had hosted Canada West events in the past, but the event moved from there to Whistler some time ago. Normally, these are large events with PCA members coming from all regions in British Columbia, Alberta, and Washington. This time, it was limited to 70 participants from only the three BC regions. It quickly sold out and then we waited to see if it would actually happen. Thankfully, we got the go ahead from our Provincial Health Officer and off we went. Nine cars and 18 members travelled from the Island to Sun Peaks to participate in the multi -region event organized by the Canada West Region from July 9 – 11th. On the Friday, Marilyn and I left on the 9am sailing out of Swartz Bay, along with Rob and Aurelie, and Steve and Heather. Later, we met up with Trevor and Sonia at the Chevron in Chilliwack, where we filled up for the next leg of the journey. We stopped at the Briton Creek rest stop on the Coquihalla for a bite to eat and to stretch our legs, and then again in Kamloops to fill up and have a full tank of gas for the drives on Sunday. The other Island participants had either gone to the mainland the day before or decided to take different routes to get to Sun Peaks. Upon arrival, we checked in at the resort and the event registration desk, where we picked up our name tags and swag bag. Unfortunately, due to water restrictions, we were unable to wash our cars in preparation for Saturday’s concours litein the village but we did our best with the detail products we brought with us and the Chemical Guys spray-on products and the microtowels we received in the swag bag. That evening was a social, where we got together for a buffet of snacks, drinks, and to meet up with members from our own Club and the other clubs. Saturday brought an early start as we had to line up the cars by 8am so that once the gates were opened, we could start position-

ing the cars to showcase in the village. All event participants and the general public were invited to vote for the “People’s Choice” award. The rest of the day was spent exploring the village, although that doesn’t take long as it is quite compact, compared to Whistler. There are certainly a number of good places to eat and the atmosphere was quite vibrant with lots of families, mountain bikers, dogs and golfers. We took the cars back to the resort garage at 2pm and then we’re off to the Morrisey pub for a 68question Porsche trivia test. Needless to say, Marilyn and I failed miserably as our Porsche knowledge was lacking and our guesses were mostly wrong. Where is John Clark when you need him?! That evening was a “Hawaiian themed” event and we enjoyed a fantastic buffet dinner. Warren and Karen Lee from Port Alberni were the big winners in the fun “make like a Hawaiian” contest. The winners of the concours litewere also announced and Warren and Karen finished second. This was well-deserved as Warren was still there working away, meticulously cleaning his car every time I made one of my numerous trips to the garage on Friday evening. It was a beautiful 356 with props (a pair of wooden skis and a worn, leather suitcase), which came in first place. On Saturday afternoon, a wildfire had started off in the distance but the event organizers were still going ahead with planning the drives on Sunday. Unfortunately, by very early Sunday the situation had changed and we received a notice slipped under our hotel room doors that we had been advised that it would not be wise to leave the resort, as we may

not be able to return. There was only one road in and out of the resort that would be passable by a Porsche and the fire could move in that direction, while we were away for the day. At a morning meeting, we were briefed that the evening banquet was still a go, so we teamed up with Trevor and Sonia and headed up the mountain for a hike. The views were amazing and next time we will take the lift up to get up even higher and explore the mountain meadows. We were back down in the village in time to get a seat in the hotel bar and take in the Italy – England football match. After the match was over, then came the bad news. An evacuation alert had been issued for Sun Peaks and most of the businesses had started to close up and send their employees home. The event organizers then made the difficult decision to cancel the remaining banquet and most participants starting checking out and leaving for home.

Eight of us decided to stay. Even though there was an evacuation alert issued, we were told that there was minimal risk with the wind forecasted to continue in the opposite direction. There was also only a very slight trace of smoke in the air and we felt reassured by the fact that the hotel was checking in fire fighters! We took the opportunity to enjoy the pool and then the eight of us got together for a wonderful meal in the hotel. After dinner, we got to meet the chef to thank him in person and as it turns out, he was from Stuttgart. We then said our goodbyes and retired for the evening. We were up early the next day and managed to catch the noon ferry from Tsawwassen. The organizers are already planning the 2022 event, when they hope to double the size of the event and include those from south of the border again. It’s a wellorganized event and the fact that they were able to address, manage

and stay on top of an uncontrollable situation, speaks volumes. I’m sure that next year will be a fantastic event and I look forward to experiencing the full event. I highly recommend you consider planning to attend next year, as it is a very fun weekend. Hopefully, I will see you there and we will have a bigger island presence! Tim

MSR Registration closes August 3rd 5pm msreg.com/2021-Up-Island-Picnic