Pagoda SL Group
W113 Pagoda SL Group => Events => Topic started by: jeblack123 on September 03, 2024, 16:02:19
-
Good morning!
Any plans for a gathering in the US in 2025 or 2026 and if so, are there any details on dates, location, etc. Thanks!
James (Eddie) Black
-
Eddie,
The Board started discussion about it but couldn't come to a consensus yet. We know it will be in the east somewhere.
Mike
-
Pick Cleveland, Ohio :o. There is a lot to do! Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Crawford and Packard Auto Museums, Football Hall of Fame in Canton, and if you pick a date with an event at Mid Ohio, it would make for a great excursion 2 hrs drive. Ton of great restaurants also. And maybe one of the local MB dealerships would sponsor the event. Mercedes Benz North Olmsted, Mercedes Benz Bedford......Just thinking 8)
-
How about a UK one. ? Possible at Brooklands or Mercedes world next door. They might be happy to host as well? Anyone in the UK with contacts there?
-
How about a UK one. ? Possible at Brooklands or Mercedes world next door. They might be happy to host as well? Anyone in the UK with contacts there?
We certainly have enough members in the UK that would warrant having some kind of gathering… But as we have learned with any of these, We need a local champion so to speak and some boots on the ground to take charge of the planning. Whoever chooses to do this, of course, will be aided by many other members to make it a team effort.
So who is willing to step up?
-
Pick Cleveland, Ohio :o. There is a lot to do! Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Crawford and Packard Auto Museums, Football Hall of Fame in Canton, and if you pick a date with an event at Mid Ohio, it would make for a great excursion 2 hrs drive. Ton of great restaurants also. And maybe one of the local MB dealerships would sponsor the event. Mercedes Benz North Olmsted, Mercedes Benz Bedford......Just thinking 8)
There were certainly plenty to do in the Cleveland area. But the question becomes once again who’s willing to step up and take charge of the planning? We need to have somebody local who would then be supported by other members as a team effort. Who in the Cleveland or Northern Ohio area is willing to do this?
-
European Event 2024 is being organised by James from the UK, and myself from the Netherlands.
We will skip 2025 in Europe... and we need some new people to step up to the plate of event organisation..
Peter
-
Due to the devastation in the Appalachian mountains in and around western NC and eastern TN, thoughts of an event in the Asheville area for 2025 are no longer in consideration.
Some thoughts on something out of harms way, maybe around autumn 2025 in western Michigan.
Would also LOVE to see a few of our many UK members step up to try and organize something on the fair isles. Scotland, Wales and England are pretty small and we have plenty of members concentrated in England that could put something together. Yes, the locations of the European events have been beautiful in the past, but the UK has PLENTY to offer in the way of charm out in the countryside. Not suggesting a tour of the M1 or M25 but there is a LOT of beautiful drives throughout the UK.
Club continuity mandates that new folks step up.
-
Michael, various conversations were had in Luxembourg.
The weather is not as predictable as (say) southern France but it’s not impossible- though not going to be in 2026
There was also some chat about a more technical get together, which could be anywhere.
-
Michael, various conversations were had in Luxembourg.
The weather is not as predictable as (say) southern France but it’s not impossible- though not going to be in 2026
There was also some chat about a more technical get together, which could be anywhere.
Weather is never predictable, anywhere, for any kind of long term planning. Just weeks ago the thought of a hurricane affecting the Appalachian mountains--6 hours from the coast--was nearly unthinkable. (for those who don't know, the fuel for a hurricane is warm oceans) Oh sure, we've had hurricanes come inland prior, but they just are just bad storms. This one happened to coincide with the Gull Wing Group's annual meeting in the mountains of Asheville, NC. Total devastation there now. We were thinking of maybe holding an event there. Another place was maybe Charleston, SC, but that place too--though spared so far this season, has seen hurricanes nearly every year. Only the severity changes.
The weather in UK isn't bad enough to prevent ownership and driving of the Pagoda (or any other collectibles) so it should not be that bad to plan something in UK either. Just saying. Oh sure, the south of France is lovely this time of year, but not accessible for many members.
-
Charleston would be a nice place to host, though I'd err towards Savannah owing to way more hotels (of generally better quality, too, I think), though surely Charleston has way more people who'd probably be interested in Pagodas.
I'd advocate for Winter Park in FL, too, contiguous to Orlando. Or can I plug Vero Beach...? There are like 5 other pagoda owners here who aren't in the club, I think, but I do see these cars driving about (all in Indian River Shores). Vero has a neat history of SCCA rallies back in the late 40s through the 50s, usually being the turnaround point for road rallies leaving from Miami. I can upload some pics later. There was also the predecessor of the Sebring endurance race here, which was held at the airport. Ocean Drive would be a super place to park some cars, and there are plenty of fine quality hotels that are relatively inexpensive. Superb winter weather, too.
-
How about Niagara Falls or St. Catherines. Stays in the Eastern US. Slight chance of Snow in October, LOL. May be able to benefit from the exchange rate?
Mike
-
Lucy and I attend an M.G. event in Newark, Ohio in June. The Mid-West M.G. events always seem to be able to attract folks from both coasts, the south and Canada. The Cherry Valley Hotel had convention facilities with great food. The facility had ample parking, including an area that was ideal for car displays. A big plus was an overflow lot big enough for over 25 tow-vehicles and trailers, with enough extra space for daily unloading and loading of trailered cars. They also set up a car washing area off one of the side entrances.
-
How about Las Vegas? The weather is pretty predictable. Also, something to do for the passengers that may not be as excited as we are about our pagodas.
-
How about Niagara Falls or St. Catherines. Stays in the Eastern US. Slight chance of Snow in October, LOL. May be able to benefit from the exchange rate?
Mike
September in Niagara is lovely. Almost all of the attractions are still open but the crowds are mostly gone. Weather is usually still warm through the day and everything is fairly close to see things. Exchange rate is close to 40% so not a bad deal.
-
Dirk, when we changed the format of Joe Alexander's PUB to a more Social "PagodaFest" gathering, we decided that in order to get as many members involved, we should rotate it from East Coast, West Coast and Midwest. So we had Virginia, San Diego, and Chicago. It is the East coast's turn for the next one. As evidenced by the Southeast's weather prone September and October this year, we should probably keep it north of the Mason Dixon line.
Maybe Vegas in 2027?
Mike
-
Dirk, when we changed the format of Joe Alexander's PUB to a more Social "PagodaFest" gathering, we decided that in order to get as many members involved, we should rotate it from East Coast, West Coast and Midwest. So we had Virginia, San Diego, and Chicago. It is the East coast's turn for the next one. As evidenced by the Southeast's weather prone September and October this year, we should probably keep it north of the Mason Dixon line.
Maybe Vegas in 2027?
Mike
Mike, I wasn't aware of that but it makes sense.
-
I think Florida would be a great location, a lot of venues in Orlando and around there. There are a lot members in Florida, whether primary residences or winter homes. Also nothing has been done in the central part of the country. Such as Texas.
I agree England would be good, for a non-US location.
-
The challenge with Florida is, it's brutal in the summer time for the most part. When it starts to cool down a bit, it's the unpredictable hurricane season (entire SE and Gulf Coast areas). Winter is the perfect time to do it, but by then most in the northern climates have their cars "put away" for the winter. So, a dilemma if the goal is attracting more than locals. Perhaps TX suffers from the same dilemma.
There are surely enough in UK to have a gathering...
-
Pagodafest 2025 is a US event.
I’m sure someone this side of the pond will step up for next spring/summer.
-
I just counted 23 Full Members in New Jersey. Maybe they can organize something including the MBCA June Jamboree as part of a Pagoda Fest?
What other fun, large east coast car shows could we incorporate? Any Oktoberfest German car shows?
-
The heck with the MBCA. I wouldn't want anything to to do with those guys. PagodaFest is about W113's only, in my opinion.
Pretty soon, I won't get a vote though.
Mike
-
Mike,
I was reflecting back on the car show we participated in at the winery near Williamsburg VA in, I believe, 2013. That was great fun and a nice display of cars. Not being involved in east coast events, the June Jamboree was the only specific example I could think of. Sorry to trigger your severe MBCA bias. ::)
-
How about Pittsburgh PA and the Pittsburgh Vintage Gran Prix show in the park?
https://pvgp.org/
Deutsche Classic
NW of Philly PA, near Reading.
https://www.deutscheclassic.com/
-
MIKE
Start looking at Conn. There is a good race trac there. At this time the name escapes me.
It is in the western half.
Tom M
-
Lime Rock.
-
Thats correct.
-
There is also the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival in early September. Vintage car racing all weekend. https://watkinsglen.com/grandprix-festival/
-
ALL THESE suggestions of various places aiming towards "the east" are all well and good. Every place has its charms, even Cleveland as Mike Simon has suggested. ;)
Lime Rock, CT in Salisbury (Lakeville) CT
Niagara Falls, St. Catherines Ontario/New York
Pittsburgh, PA and the Vintage Grand Prix
Oley, PA (near Allentown and Philadelphia) and the Deutsche Classic
North Jersey and in concert with June Jamboree
These were just recent suggestions by members.
Some of your board had privately discussed places such as Charleston SC or Asheville, NC. However, as the past month has indicated, hurricane season in the SE USA is vastly unpredictable. You may have nothing, or you may have horrific devastation. The Gull Wing Group meet was scheduled for Asheville the week of Hurricane Helene. Asheville will be reeling for years from the destruction. Many are still without power and water for those that still have homes, and schools are yet to re-open.
Another area recently offered is the west coast of Michigan, perhaps in concert with the Gilmore Museum https://gilmorecarmuseum.org and incorporating driving tours on part of the Great Lakes Circle Route https://www.glc.org/work/great-lakes-circle-tour. The driving section in the SW corner of Michigan is spectacular. The Gilmore also has an Oktoberfest event.
So as you can see, there's NO SHORTAGE of great places to hold an event, and frame the event to the locale. There's also no shortage of members offering up places and locations to add to the list...
...but what there does seem to be a shortage of is members willing to step up and organize something--NOTHING will happen if this doesn't happen. Chicago area member Frank K championed the 2023 PagodaFest, and we put together a team of locals and those distant to help out. There's no substitution for local "boots on the ground".
So, who knows any of the aforementioned areas well enough to raise their hand?
BTW, organizing an event that leans towards more social than technical is far easier to assemble than a technical event...did none of you organize a party for your kids, your parents or something similar?
-
I will organize something here if there is willingness to come to Florida.
In my eyes, it would behoove the club to go to places where not only is it convenient for the membership (I understand the inconvenience of Florida to many members), but where there is a potential target audience for club expansion. I also understand that many cars are 'put away' for the winter, but that does not stop the numerous car events down here from taking place -- granted, a great many owners here are also residents, though that is not always the case. Some are just retired enthusiasts who follow the show circuit and enjoy the socializing.
Most events here take place in the wintertime. Some that come to mind:
Palm Beach Concours (December 6-8, Palm Beach)
100 Years of Cars (January 18, Hobe Sound)
Cavallino Concours (January 23-26, Palm Beach)
Cars on 5th (February 8, Naples)
Hagerty Cars and Caffeine at Sebring Raceway (February 23-25)
Boca Concours (February 24, Boca Raton)
Amelia Concours (March 3, Amelia Island)
St. Petersburg Motor Classic (April 7, St. Pete)
Wheels Across the Pond (April 19, Jupiter)
And there are so many more. These are just the ones I can recall and the ones I typically go to. Heck, here in Vero, we do an annual event at McKee Jungle Gardens in early February that has had outstanding attendance. They are looking for a theme for next year. This past year was hot rods, which in my opinion stunk, but it had excellent attendance anyway. '23 was excellent with some of the heavy hitters from Jupiter Island and Palm Beach even driving up. Could be vintage Mercedes? That year, the VBMA had a wonderful exhibit on Art Deco cars. I believe even some club members here went to it. There is a big audience here potentially for cool and classy cars, namely convertibles, which our cars are.
We should think about putting our cars in their romantic and proper setting, which would do the club well by attracting inspired owners. Just like seeing all those Ferraris parked on the Breakers Golf Course, or when I first saw a Pagoda parallel parked on Worth Avenue in front of Taboo.
And for the record...
... major storms happen in late August to mid-October. This is when 3/4 of the total storms to ever impact Florida have occurred, with 1/3 of the total storms occurring in September. The tourist season here is what it is largely because of the fairly predictable weather. Storms of any sort in the winter and spring here are exceedingly rare.
-
I think the Goal would be inclusion and people willing to manage the event. I think it needs to be in the east. Florida is a long haul for most of the Northeastern folk to drive, and driving through the Mountains in snowy Winter months to get there would be an issue. Coastal Carolinas would be great, and my original suggestion of Charleston was to be held in April or May, without risk of Hurricanes and before the kids got out of school, since family beach vacations are usually after memorial day. Florida has lots of Pagodas, so luring them for an 8-10 hour drive would mean somewhere in the Carolinas or Georgia. We should also consider the number of European members who came to Chicago with spouses, who extended their trip to include tourist or resort destinations.
I do think some local folks need to step up if we are to have an event, and I think we should be flexible as to Spring or Fall to get the most people (35-50 cars with a 8-10 hour drive) to attend. Just my two cents.
Mike
-
We have had two events in Virginia, the 50 anniversary event, and the PUD near Charlottesville. My vote would be somewhere on the eastern seaboard. A city that has a lot of things to do and see, instead of just kicking tires. I would have it back in Williamsburg, but know Savanna or Charleston have promise. Be glad to help out.
-
A city that has a lot of things to do and see, instead of just kicking tires.
I miss the old PUB days where kicking tires was the first 5 minutes and it got much more in depth from there.
-
I agree with Rodd, bring back the PUB days.
Tom
-
I, too, would enjoy a more technical get-together (like the old PUBs).
-David
-
I, too, would enjoy a more technical get-together (like the old PUBs).
It would fun to do a PUB Crawl. To the Youths, that means having drinks in a long series of bars. I'm thinking, if we had enough skilled members (people with knowledge, tools, a lift or two) in one town, we could have each of those members set up to help with specific things. If there were 4 stops, all attendees would be divided into 4 groups and sent out to the stops, spend 2 - 3 hours at each stop, and rotate stops in a given sequence. One stop might be engine tuning, another interior/exterior cleaning & preservation, a third analyzing factory original/correct items, a forth something else. Whatever, we'll make it up. Maybe a vendor/sponsor could be a stop. Different drinks & food at each stop, so no need to organize a big meal at a restaurant. Spouses not interested in the garage talk could have their own living room or back porch conversations. Gardening, interior design, fashion, wine knowledge, vacation travel, etc. This way, each stop/host only has about 10 cars and 15 people at their place at a time, but it would be a long day. That would be 1 day of Pagoda Fest, and then back to the hotel.
-
PUD was a lot of work for Joe Alexander to release this workload on him, we started moving PUD around. I was on the BOD back then, knowing the 50th Anniversary was coming around. We decided to move PUD to a more of a conference setting, with tech sessions and social sessions etc. We wanted more participants, so the BOD voted to hold 50th in Williamsburg. We got 60+ members that year. Even at the second conference held at Tom’ Sargent’s farm, great success in this event with tech sessions and a lift set up just for the event, and of course Joe there giving expert experience. The old PUD at Joe’s could only handle a few members. The idea now to have two locations/garages to have a PUD, don’t think is a good idea. Again participation is the driving force. Back then the thought was to move the PUD conference around the country, ie. East coast, middle America, west coast. I still think this is the way to go. I enjoyed meeting 60+members at the 50th. I agree there are a lot of new members that have many technical questions about their Pagodas, as proof on this site. if our club is to excel as did the 190SL club or the Gullwing club, we need conferences, if not every year, every two years. The club has come a long way since the those days as a group, the BOD has moved the club to a status with the other clubs mentioned. Job well done BOD. We need members to step forward and put a convention together. We have a 6 or 7 month window. Again I would be glad to share what we had to do for the 50th at Williamsburg.
-
Robert,
My idea, which would only work if a very specific set of geographic and demographic resources came together, was a solution to get 1 day of deep, hands-on technical content into a multi-day Pagoda Fest event. Not to replace the entire Pagoda Fest with the old PUB (not PUD) event. Oh, and I believe we had 50+ members at a couple PUBs, I'm not sure what your recollections are.
Also, if the aim is to be as established and robust as the 190SL Group and others, we better step up our convention format. Check their convention schedule.
https://www.190slgroup.com/pic_stry/2024/Granville/24-Granville.htm
-
Please note that you are comparing the 190SL group, which -- while it claims to be international -- is organising a National convention -- with an annual meeting. It has regions and regional officers. It is much more strongly organised in the US than we are.
The Pagoda SL Group is truly international. This has the side effect that an event organised in a particular continent has to be self-supporting, i.e. cannot be paid for out of dues paid by members that are not likely to be able to attend such an event. All the events we have organised (in Europe, multiple times now), Australia, and the US (also multiple times now) have largely been self supported and paid for by the attendees only.
The difference in geography (read: driving distances) has a large effect on the kind of things you can organise. In Europe, most people can attend the event in less than 2 days driving. This year, because of the central location most people had less than 1 driving day to get there and get back. Our events in Europe are designed around that.
I tend to think that if we tried to organise a week-long event in the US, we'd probably get fewer attendees, rather than more. But I might be mistaken...
-
If our club is to excel as did the 190SL club or the Gullwing club, we need conferences, if not every year, every two years. The club has come a long way since the those days as a group, the BOD has moved the club to a status with the other clubs mentioned.
Peter,
I was responding to Robert's comment, quoted above.
Your points are well taken.
-
Wow, the 190SL group had quite a convention. I didn't expect that. I admire their format.
Does anyone have figures of the 190SL group membership vs the Pagoda group membership? Might be wise to look into the idea of regional event planning like Peter said. I stand by the idea that it would benefit the club to host an event in Florida with the club's support.
-
I stand by the idea that it would benefit the club to host an event in Florida with the club's support.
If you mean by that that the Pagoda SL Group should foot part of the bill, that is exactly what we can't and won't do. Organising an event needs a "local hero" and then other Board members typically jump in with support, advice etc.
-
If you mean by that that the Pagoda SL Group should foot part of the bill, that is exactly what we can't and won't do. Organising an event needs a "local hero" and then other Board members typically jump in with support, advice etc.
I understand the club not paying for events considering the "fairness" aspect to members way outside the range of the event. But what would be helpful to me would be the leadership here approving procedures for how an event ought to be hosted and how these events have typically been hosted in the past. And I might advise a change in diction... rather than stating "this is what we can't/are unwilling to do," rather it be "this is what we *can*/want to do".
As an aside, other than webhosting, what are the dues intended to be spent on?
-
I agree with Peter, when we planned the 50th at Williamsburg, there were no monies requested from the club. The staging of the event was a gamble to at least meet the outlay cost with attendance fees. It did meet those cost, so that the host was not left with a bill to pay. Most hotels that cater to conventions need a small deposit for setting aside convention room( if they get a guarantee number of hotel rooms, then they will give you the convention room free. Only thing to then do is to get vendors, speakers, tech sessions and topics, places of interest to see and do for non tech-ers, restaurants lined up for dinners, and a program of the event. I do agree with Peter, that regions should be established and let the regions start planning events in their area. These regions could be sub areas of the three mentioned - East coast, Middle America, West coast. Other car clubs do this (ie. MBCA, AACA, 190SL, etc.). We have had many members attend the European events and the Ohio PUB events at Joe’s. No reason the these regions can do plans for the smaller events and let the members pick and choose which to attend. And yes I do agree with remaster, tech sessions are a must. Mmizesko suggestion to seek people to manage an event. You could have several events at same date in some cases. Locally we have what is called the DWM session (Driveway Mechanic session), where as a local member host a Saturday of technical help for our MBs, much like Joe did with PUB.
-
Jack,
It sounds like you are just the right guy to lead a Florida Regional event. There are many folks in the group that do the same thing in their respective geographic. There is a great event in Pinehurst NC in the May time frame, The folks in Ontario, Canada are great at it, Folks in Southern California do the same thing. These attract a dozen W113's at each typically. I'm sure there many Pagodas in South Florida alone to field a nice event.
A Florida National Pagodafest, in my opinion, is just too remote to ask people to drive from most East coast population centers. The venue is a very long drive from the Georgia Line. In selecting a venue, we search our membership location by region and try to be as inclusive as possible. Thus, our hope to find a Atlantic venue around the Carolina or Mason-Dixon line areas. Ultimately, we need local members to plan and run the event, which would attract 40 or 50 Pagodas and 100 -125 people.
As for dues, most goes to publishing 2 beautiful Pagoda World Magazines per year, and mailing costs to domestic and international members. PagodaFests are all break-even events. The group advances funds for venue deposits, but to keep our tax exempt status, all ticket sales and sponsorships are channeled through the SL113.org Treasurer.
Our forum and data repository is our largest asset. When our group started. Peter Van Es contributed both his talent and time to establish what we have today. To replicate what we have, should there be technical obsolescence or if Peter would not be able commit his resources, would easily cost $50,000 to $100,000 , using standard commercial IT houses. In fact, we are currently trying to find ways to alter and expand the content available to our members. It would not be an easy transition.
Jack, I would urge you to peruse the Events section of the Forum to track down other regional events that have been held by our members, and initiate a plan for your own South Florida event. PM me if you want to discuss further.
Thanks for your enthusiasm. You would do a great job.
Regards,
Mike Mizesko.
-
Jack,
It sounds like you are just the right guy to lead a Florida Regional event. There are many folks in the group that do the same thing in their respective geographic. There is a great event in Pinehurst NC in the May time frame, The folks in Ontario, Canada are great at it, Folks in Southern California do the same thing. These attract a dozen W113's at each typically. I'm sure there many Pagodas in South Florida alone to field a nice event.
A Florida National Pagodafest, in my opinion, is just too remote to ask people to drive from most East coast population centers. The venue is a very long drive from the Georgia Line. In selecting a venue, we search our membership location by region and try to be as inclusive as possible. Thus, our hope to find a Atlantic venue around the Carolina or Mason-Dixon line areas. Ultimately, we need local members to plan and run the event, which would attract 40 or 50 Pagodas and 100 -125 people.
As for dues, most goes to publishing 2 beautiful Pagoda World Magazines per year, and mailing costs to domestic and international members. PagodaFests are all break-even events. The group advances funds for venue deposits, but to keep our tax exempt status, all ticket sales and sponsorships are channeled through the SL113.org Treasurer.
Our forum and data repository is our largest asset. When our group started. Peter Van Es contributed both his talent and time to establish what we have today. To replicate what we have, should there be technical obsolescence or if Peter would not be able commit his resources, would easily cost $50,000 to $100,000 , using standard commercial IT houses. In fact, we are currently trying to find ways to alter and expand the content available to our members. It would not be an easy transition.
Jack, I would urge you to peruse the Events section of the Forum to track down other regional events that have been held by our members, and initiate a plan for your own South Florida event. PM me if you want to discuss further.
Thanks for your enthusiasm. You would do a great job.
Regards,
Mike Mizesko.
I appreciate the detailed reply, Mike -- I'll look into those other events.
I've seen that there are quite a few Pagoda owners around my parts and further south who simply aren't part of the group at all for all kinds of reasons, often ignorance of the group or else they just come on here to get tech support (more likely than not, their mechanic might be on here . . .), and while I see these cars out-and-about throughout the year, I never see them at events. Relatedly, here's an idea... I'm having some postcards of my garden made (chose old linen texture 100lb cardstock from Neenah cut 4x6, so more of a period-correct postcard for our car, postcrossing is another one of my hobbies), and I was intending to put the SL in the middle of the driveway for the front elevation. Would be cool to print off a few of these and keep some with me to proselytize the club, maybe leave one under the wiper of the Pagodas I see around. Anyway, there's more than a few dozen around, with about five regulars in my zip code. I will work on trying to gather up a Florida cohort. Relatedly, I've seen that as an issue in other clubs I've been in, not just cars, that there's sensible regional blocks within most of the country excepting a few outliers which have to be more self-sustaining... namely: Texas, Florida below the Ocala latitude, and the Pacific Northwest broadly. I've spent some time in Bozeman lately and they (Montana broadly, that is) have to be pretty self-sustaining as far as events go, because who is going all the way up there and from where? Ah, and then there's Hawaii, which is a whole other can of spam. These other areas named are often left out of namely car shows where there is a national club unless some huge concentration of owners live there. And I get why, I truly do...
Looking at the memberlist, there are a lot of members, may of whom have never participated in the forum or maybe come on here just to read a few things in the TM but don't look for posts about anything, never minding events. By my reckoning, there are 134 members in Florida, with 83 or so of them being full members. That's actually more than I expected. Well, come the winter (and when I get my nice plated parts back), I'll try my best to do some outreach amongst our fellows here and get something going. It would just be nice to do so with, say, the blessing of the Club, if there is such a thing, rather than it just be that-guy-in-Florida's event.
Also, thanks for the enlightenment on where dues go. I won't get any more off-piste with that.
-
We do have a template "business card" document that you can download and print.
https://www.sl113.org/wiki/Main/LogoDownloads
-
We do have a template "business card" document that you can download and print.
https://www.sl113.org/wiki/Main/LogoDownloads
Nifty!
I downloaded this, thanks.
-
We do have a template "business card" document that you can download and print.
https://www.sl113.org/wiki/Main/LogoDownloads
Those are the old logos. We updated them last year. Not too much different, but different.
-
Jack,
I like your ideas. 134 members is huge. we have to be a little careful with liability on event endorsements/logo's etc, but happy to bring this up to the board. Anything that helps bring people together can't be a bad thing.
Have a great holiday season and good luck with the chrome/etc.
Mike
-
Those are the old logos. We updated them last year. Not too much different, but different.
Didn't know that. How are they different?
-
Didn't know that. How are they different?
In the original "new" logo, the image of the Pagoda was kind of ragged and wasn't done properly, in graphic arts terms. This was because it was done as they say, "quick and dirty" and at minimal cost. In addition, the color morphed from the designer's original specification.
Last year, our designer (Elvacomm; the one who does PagodaWorld Magazine) re-did the logo, cleaning up the ragged image, and adjusting the color back to the original and also creating legitimate B&W versions (for when color isn't available). He also wrote the design spec such that use of the logo now follows generally accepted logo usage.
It may take a keen eye to note the differences but they are there.
-
Looking at the memberlist, there are a lot of members, many of whom have never participated in the forum or maybe come on here just to read a few things in the TM but don't look for posts about anything, never minding events.
My personal preference is to set the forum to force user login to read the forums. That way, we know everyone using the forums. The membership list would really be accurate. But, I really need to make a post in the Full Members forum to discuss it and not hijack this thread.
-
This event is beginning to sound like fun.
It's true that Florida is a bit far for us in the extreme Northeast (Quebec City for me) to drive for a weekend car event. However, I have to admit that the best vintage car trip of my life so far was what I, and others along the way (Ferrari Chat members) called The Cavalino Classic Snowball Run to Palm Beach , Florida in January 2010, which started in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada during a snow storm. I started it alone with a 1969 Ferrari that I had restored, on an open U-Haul trailer and towed it to Maryland, left the tow-truck and trailer there, no more snow, and drove my Ferrari, along with my friends and their two old Ferraris the rest of the way to the Breakers in Palm Beach. My round trip took 8 days to drive. We spent 10 days at the Breakers, including about five for the Cavallino Classic (my wife flew there and back to meet me) and the whole trip was a "once in a lifetime experience".
I was almost 65 years old then. I am almost 80 now, but I can probably find a retired nephew to go with me to share the driving. I am not concerned about my 230SL's reliability. It has never been better.
Easier and more realistic for me at my current age would be something organized in Williamsburg or points North. (less driving, commensurate with a long weekend car event). I imagine it would probably be my last event, hopefully not in a snowstorm this time.
I will closely monitor the discussions as the 2025 event develops.
Tom Kizer
-
I love Florida. I live in Jacksonville where we've had direct hits from only two hurricanes in 150 years. However, the state is mostly flat. There aren't a lot of cool driving roads and I believe that is a must for a successful PUB or Pagodafest. If we choose the low country like Savannah to Charleston, we'd need a track day at Roebling Road to find an interesting curve. By next year, the mountains north of Atlanta will be recovered from the big storm and there are many places to find a pleasant mountain road. How about Nashville? There is plenty to do in town, and beautiful country around it. Any local heroes we can support to get us started? Reach out for a no obligation conversation.
-
Biscuits at Loveless Cafe followed by a bimble down the Natchez Trace…
-
Hi. Are we planning a Pagodafest 2025?
-
Keith, sure hope someone steps up and decides to host one. I’ll be glad to help. Do you think we should do another Williamsburg gathering?
-
There are three pages of posts under EVENTS, with the same "subject", but it appears to have gone "dormant" since November due to a search for an appropriate venue and a number of members to organize it. I want to go to one, so I am patiently waiting for one to be organized. I'm too far away to help, and getting too old to do anything but attend. Williamsburg is a bit far for me but I think it would be a great venue and worth driving my 66 230Sl there. These posts should probably be moved to EVENTS. (moderator?)
Tom Kizer
-
Hello!
I am going to ask one of the moderators who normally do these things, to move this topic to EVENTS and out of GENERAL DISCUSSION.
As your new President, I'm all about events and supporting them in ways that make sense. There's no better learning experience than going to an event, even if you cannot bring your car due to mechanical or distance reasons--or maybe you don't even have one yet.
Our last major event, under the PagodaFest banner, was in Chicago in September of 2023. This was an event long in coming due to the worldwide pandemic. Prior to that were the Charlottesville event and the San Diego event, east and west coasts. One thing that both of these events shared, as well as events prior such as Williamsburgh and the PUB events, has been a champion and a group of members who together formed the planning committee and made it happen. Without these critical member volunteers, an event cannot happen. In fact, nothing in our group can happen without champions and volunteers.
There is and has been a bit of a demand, if not clamoring, for another event in 2025 in the USA. Unless someone steps up quickly and organizes something, nothing will happen. The board of directors, a group of members just like you, cannot force things to happen.
Aside from our own event, just the Pagoda SL Group, two possibilities have been floated, and that is to work with and tag along to two MBCA (Mercedes-Benz Club of America) events that are on the calendar for this year. One of them is in Alabama, which includes a location near to the MB plant, and another in Indianapolis. Just because these events exist, and you can attend them if you join the MBCA, doesn't make it an effortless operation for us to tag along as a group. We still need a champion to take on the coordination and communications, and probably a small group of members to assist.
So, any takers? Anyone with MBCA connections willing to take on the task? Or, does anyone have a solid idea for our own event and willing to become its champion?
-
I highly recommend the vanEs approach: get some likely organisers drunk at one event and tell them they are on the hook for organising the next one. Don't ask me how I know ;)
-
Thanks guys. I had not noticed the "Events" tab. But at least this thread restarted the conversation.
-
A few of you have mentioned the Gilmore Museum. Would it make sense to piggyback on to this event?
https://mbca.glueup.com/event/deutschemarques-131816/
It would save us most of the effort, wouldn't it?
-
A few of you have mentioned the Gilmore Museum. Would it make sense to piggyback on to this event?
https://mbca.glueup.com/event/deutschemarques-131816/
It would save us most of the effort, wouldn't it?
Hey Peter, it's the middle of July but then it's Michigan so who knows what the weather will be. Not our usual September but do we have anyone living in the area to assist with this? Makes sense but I think we need someone local to bring us together. Do you need to be a member of mbca to attend? I'm not.
-
Hey Peter, it's the middle of July but then it's Michigan so who knows what the weather will be.
At least it won't be snowing.
I know PagodaFest is intended to be a pretty large event, so I don't think we have enough volunteer power in southwestern Ontario or Niagara/Buffalo to do that. But I would stand up to help, if it happened here. We sure miss Dieter!
-
As an FYI, the Alabama event is called Star Summit. It will be at the MB factory. There will be tours of the facility, which is not open for public tours, a car show, performance events, and drives. While this is a Mercedes Benz Club of America sponsorship, you do not have to be a member to attend. They have several hotels available.
The contact is Jim Roberts from MBCA.
Jim indicated that it would be likely there could be enough space for our group (depending on numbers of course).
I can help with contacts. Someone or two (or three) would need to be in touch with Jim to begin the leg work.
FYI - I have already volunteered to handle the concours.
-
If I am not mistaken, I heard somewhere that the Indianapolis event in September was going to have the Pagoda as the main featured MB.
-
For those that did not attend the 50 Anniversary (P-50) in Williamsburg, Va, it was a wonderful event. I enjoyed staging it in September 2013, could do again with the help of our local members. Anyone want to step up to do this again. Colonial Williamsburg is wonderful in the summer, and the tri-city area (Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown are getting their plans together for this year’s 250th American Revolution Anniversary. And Virginia, particularly Williamsburg and Yorktown, played an important role. Virginia will be memorializing its role. So there should be lots of actives planed. So if our local Virginia Pagoda owners want to contact me and talk about a fest here, please give me a shout. Bob
-
Unfortunately, the Star Summit in Birmingham for 2025 has been postponed. Nothing to do with us, but the local group that was going to put it together did not have adequate support from the Mercedes-Benz Club of America.
So we are working on two alternative locations. Stay tuned.
-
I am an elderly American expatriot retired to historic Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (actually across the St-Laurence River with a view of Quebec City) and drool at the idea of celebrating my "probably-last" Pagoda Event simultaneously with a celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, and in one of my favorite hostorical cities - Williamsburg, Virginia - to boot. A summer or early-fall cruise through historic New England to get there and back would be icing on the cake.
This is an event that I would love to experience.
Tom Kizer
-
If I am not mistaken, I heard somewhere that the Indianapolis event in September was going to have the Pagoda as the main featured MB.
Yes, and the car show is open to the public. The MBCA is just using it as part of their multi-day event. Unless Pagoda Group members join MBCA, we would organize our own hotel, social events, meals, etc.
-
For those that did not attend the 50 Anniversary (P-50) in Williamsburg, Va, it was a wonderful event.
Bob,
My wife and I did attend the P50 in Williamsburg and we had a great time. I would expect the 250th anniversary events will be special. I tried to go to Gettysburg's 150th anniversary, but tried too late and everything was booked. We'd better act fast if we want to participate in any specific anniversary events in VA.
-
So if our local Virginia Pagoda owners want to contact me and talk about a fest here, please give me a shout. Bob
Bob,
If you're serious about this, then I recommend you don't be passive and expect Virginia members to find this post. Be active and use the Membership contact list, sort by state, document all VA members' email addresses, and reach out to them. (Send the email to yourself and BCC the members. This shows you're not sharing addresses with everyone.)
-
I am currently in contact with our BOD (Michael) concerning the event staged here. Will forward to Michael my recommendation s(hotels, events during the weekend , etc) and the BOD will look at all there venues and make a selection where to hold this years event.