British Car Festival 2009 - It's a Wrap

British Car Festival 2009 was one of the most successful car shows to be produced by SABCC in many years.

The morning dawned bright and breezy and it was so cool that a light jacket was in order for the day. The fall sun was low enough that the bluff above Fairhope Beach Park kept a lot of the show field in the shade until late in the morning.

The folks from MINI of Pensacola arrived early and set up their display of new MINI models - A convertible and Clubman wagon were on hand. The wind was so strong that they MINI of Pensacola team had a hard time keeping their table upright. They didn't even try to tie up the banner they brought along.

Many SABCC'ers were at the show site by 7:00AM to get the windbreaks tied up on the pavilion and to get the all-important coffee brewing. The class signs were out in the show field ready for the traditional potted mums to finish the look.

The use of the portable 'porch' for registration kept the wind off the paperwork and gave the registration team a comfortable place to work. The entrants photos were also taken there with Mobile Bay making a nice backdrop for the photos. Once the photos were taken, the participants were directed to their class parking on the field.

There was a steady stream of classic British cars entering the show all morning. In fact, word reached the registration team that a minor traffic delay in Fairhope might make some of the entrants late to the show. A decision was made to keep the registration open an extra thirty minutes.

Once the field was set, the popular choice ballots and souvenir dash plaques were handed out and the balloting began. It was a tough call in most of the classes, especially in the Britannia Sports class. With the encouragement of the show announcers (over the clubs new PA system), the ballots were returned in record time and the vote counting began while the valve cover racing and the excellent bar-b-que dinners kept the show participants busy.

Raffles were drawn, tee shirts were sold out and television interviews were performed.

The awards ceremony began a little before 3:30 thanks to the hard work of the vote counting committee. All the trophies were in the hands of the winners before 4:30 and the work to take down the show commenced. In less than an hour, everything was loaded and ready to go - another British Car Festival in the history books.

Everyone associated with the show went far beyond the call and brought home once the best organized and executed BCFs in recent memory. The show committee deserves the highest commendation for their efforts - no job went undone.

Thanks to all who made BCF 2009 a success and a special thanks also to MINI of Pensacola and the Mini community for their support.