UP-ISLAND PICNIC

from Porscher 2021 09

by Vancouver Island Region - Porsche Club of America

CLUB CLASSIFIEDS

By VIR Member Franz-Albert Burgund

Porsche-a-Palooza

The sun is shining, the weather perfect, the Porsches arrive and the day begins! Presents! What a way to start - thanks for the swag bag! Drivers exit their beauties and have their picture taken courtesy of Henning Wulff with the VIRPCA 25th Anniversary placard displayed in the background. Drivers were then directed to their appointed zones: the Boxsters, the water-cooled 911s, the air-cooled 911s, the 944s, the Caymans, a GT3, a 356, and a Macan. What a collection! Let the fun begin!

The grounds of the Filberg Park, which is nestled halfway between Goose Spit and the Comox Marina, provided a fitting backdrop to the highly polished cars displayed for everyone to enjoy. Members, old and newest (Adam & Karen Lee), as well as visiting public were invited to vote on their favourite car, colour, and year. Besides the automotive "Rennbow" to admire was local artist/pilot Malcolm Fletcher (photo below). His desire to have a Porsche led him to choose Porsche automobiles as the subject matter to adorn his canvases. His work can be viewed at malcolmfletcher.ca (Editor-we have featured his great work in the 2019 September issue!)

John Clark had tables set up with numerous models of famous race cars, rare models, and vintage Porsches. Something I know I take advantage of is John's generousness when he offers up duplicates of magazines or just wants to make room for newer ones - all for FREE! Thanks John.

Tim and Marilyn manned the VIRPCA merchandise table. They offered quite an array of 25th Anniversary gear including hats, blankets, umbrellas, chairs, T-shirts, as well as items from other events like Black Rock.

For the picnic portion of the afternoon members were treated to an exceptional lunch by Yolanda at "Custom Gourmet Chef". Individual pre-ordered "bag lunches" were prepared and labelled so that upon delivery Zoë Levitsky, Sonia Ross and Albert had no problems distributing them to the participants.

And the winners were:

People’s Public's Choice Tim Evans

2006 Cayman S (photo left) Public’s favourite year Trevor Ross 1991 Porsche 911 964 (photo right) Public’s favourite colour Wendy Woodley 2002 ‘Forest Green’ Boxster (photo p.38) Member’s Choice John Palmeter 1969 911 T (photo overleaf)

Roger Quintana generously donated an interior detailing gift certificate. Roger gave the gift to his choice of “the interior most needing attention" to Franz-Albert Burgund. (I didn't think my car was that bad but NOW it is going to get a professional cleaning!)

An event such as this does not just happen. It takes careful planning, dedication, vision, and endless hours of work behind the scenes - all done for the love of the Porsche brand. The driving force of the Porsche-a-Palooza was our own John Clark. John has an absolute

obsession with all things Porsche. He has read a plethora of magazines and books, watched countless videos, attended more than a fair share of events and owned numerous models - a true aficionado! John was aided in his quest to put together a memorable weekend by his wife Zoë Levitsky, Trevor & Sonia Ross, and Tim & Marilyn Evans.

A special shout out to Trevor & Jackie Minta who took photos. There's a rumour that they shot a video too. Zoë wanted to mention invaluable assistance from Gary Glover and Steve Fairbrother who promptly answered her requests for technical assistance.

From the local community: Bert Heeringa the owner/ operator of the Canadian Tire store in Courtenay who generously offered the "Rally in Valley" staging space as well as the water bottles for all participants. Pens were supplied by 911 cabriolet owner and club member Richard DeLuca of DeLuca Veale Investments.

For anyone I forgot to mention by name - my apologies. Your efforts are no less appreciated and I thank you for your time and service. For the public that came out: "Thank you" for letting us share our Porsche passion with you. For my fellow VIR club members who interacted with the public - answering questions, explaining the differences, teaching the terminology I thank you and truly hope that at least one more convert will be joining us shortly.

Other volunteers were recruited, donations secured, caterers contacted, registration process initiated, and venues prepared and prayers were said. John's dream came to fruition as this event played out flawlessly.

A quick look in the dictionary shows the definition of "Lollapalooza" to be: noun slang. 1 an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event: an exceptional example or instance. By extension our Porsche-a-Palooza was a exceptional example of what the VIRPCA embodies.

Franz-Albert

PS. If Henning’s name sounds familiar it might be because he and Tonia were featured VIR members in last month’s Porscher. I caught up with him in the early afternoon where he was taking pictures with what I thought was an older Leica. Henning explained that it was quite a modern camera - digital but specifically set up for black and white photography. He went on to praise the benefits of the art but perhaps a picture is worth a 1000 words. We are very fortunate to have Henning taking photos at our events. The quality of his work is outstanding. Thank you for your tireless efforts in recording our cars digitally for all to admire! Zoë & John

John Palmeter’s 1969 911 T

Some great cars on display

Geordie Greenwood’s 1959 356A ex-Westwood race car

Editor-Many thanks to all the photographers for the Up-Island picnic and the Rally in the Valley events and a special thanks to Franz-Albert Burgund for supplying the article texts. Of course, the Club is grateful to both John Clark & Zoë Levitsky for organising the events along with Trevor & Sonia Ross. Many thanks to Henning Wulff for the photos

By VIR Member Franz-Albert Burgund

Rally in the Valley OR How to get an education while driving your Porsche!

Part of the August 7-8 weekend included the "Rally in the Valley", where the Up Island part of VIR got to showcase the Comox Valley. Local Porsche fanatics John Clark, his wife Zoë Levitsky, as well as Trevor & Sonia Ross spent many hours coming up with 52 questions that challenged drivers and navigators to explore and learn about the ceded and traditional lands of the Komox Nation. Unlike the Gumball Rally or the Cannonball Run the "Rally in the Valley", did not focus on speed, evading the RCMP, or a myriad of other high jinks. Tim Evans gathered the drivers and collected waivers and explained the fun that the participants would shortly be embarking on. The teams would have to get out of their Porsches and find the answers to the 52 questions. Street signs, historical plaques, monuments, the Walk of Fame, and even gravestones provided answers. There were different routes that allowed the organizers to minimize congestion by starting folks off in four directions. The routes took the 15 cars (30 participants) to: Royston beach, Cumberland historical coal mining area, Chinese/Japanese cemetery, downtown; Courtenay's 5th Street shopping core, Walk of Fame, Native Sons Hall, and a freebie ice cream or beverage at "Hot Chocolates"; The Dyke Road - estuary for some "bird watching/counting", the Komox Band Cedar Lodge; and the town of Comox Zoë and Sonia greeted each pair of driver/navigator in the staging area and handed them their question/instruction sheets, a bag with water and pens - all of which came in handy. The day was slightly overcast for the most part and a few light showers later on did not spoil the afternoon’s enjoyment. The time limit was manageable but I was worried at one point that we would be late. Thanks to my fellow rally enthusiasts - many of whom I encountered at different stages of the event - I was able to find where the answers were "hiding". To give you some idea of how you had to focus on what you had to do (while driving) was... one question asked: How many teapots could one find in the birdhouse condos? Take a look: - I had to stop and take a picture - a memento. Zoë Levitsky had the unenviable task of marking the answers. When all was said and done, the organizers and participants gathered at the Blackfin Pub for a scrumptious dinner and announcement of how the day went. Fortunately everyone seemed to have had an awesome time. We all learned quite a

bit about the history and the culture of the valley. The winners included: 1st: Lorraine & Chuck Romain 2nd: Al & Laurel Klaus (pictured below right) 3rd: Wendy Woodley (pictured below left, there was a nine-way tie for third so we drew from a hat!)

Many thanks to Bert Heeringa the owner/operator of the Canadian Tire store in Courtenay who generously offered the "Rally in Valley" staging space as well as the water bottles for all participants. Pens were supplied by 911 cabriolet owner and club member Richard DeLuca of DeLuca Veale Investments. The free treats at Hot Chocolates were courtesy of Jorden. If you are visiting the area or live here please remember to support these generous businesses. As always a big thank you goes to Gary Glover who took numerous pictures and to Steve Fairbrother who provided invaluable internet assistance.