May 19, 2011

Folks,

As you now know, we're heading back to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Thursday Early Event. Because a large majority is attending this early event and because it is a longer hike back to Little Switzerland than to Blowing Rock, we're moving dinner start time on Thursday evening to 8:00 p.m

Plus, Switzerland Inn will have the dinner buffet run as late as 10:00 p.m. to accommodate late arrivals, including those who want to drive extended laps, or take in the Bristol Dragway in the early evening, or linger longer at Hugh Tackett's Garage Mahal.

Plan your Thursday mid-afternoon snack time accordingly in light of this later dinner start! We're also beefing up the lunch menu at Bristol -- think of it as adding extra fuel tanks.

Also, as you'll see, Switzerland Inn is very conducive to relaxing around the restaurant, outdoor Terrace Bar, pool area, pub and grand lodge lobby area. So, if you finish early dinner, stick around (or make a run down and up Diamondback!). We'll have the Fun Run talk and welcome to the newcomers around 9:30 p.m. in the restaurant.

We're also trying to get a handle on the number who will desire a vegetarian meal or have other special food requests. All of our food vendors will accommodate such requests.

Please e-mail us at planners@brbs.org if you desire a vegetarian meal or have any other special food requests.

See everyone soon!

Karl & Ron

 

May 18, 2011

Folks,

We're pleased to announce that for this year's Thursday Early Event, we're returning to

Thunder Valley -- The World's Fastest Half Mile . . . . .BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY!

Two years ago, we stumbled upon this opportunity and had a rather serendipitous time on the track. Because of the small number of cars at that time, because we basically cut the lock on the track and got in (well, not quite), and because Wes looked the other way (which is exactly what happened), it was a very unstructured time on the track with no rules.

Now to accommodate so many people interested in this early event, we've made plans to return for a group photo, tour the Speedway and Dragway, have lunch in the luxurious Bruton Smith Suite, and then drive laps around the track.

BMS will use its pace car to take 10 cars out at a time for 5 brisk laps @ $25 per driver and $10 per passenger, and folks may make multiple trips. (We calculated at this rate you could race the entire NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City race for $5,000, a lot cheaper than what it cost Kyle Busch two months ago.)

The cost for the tour of the facilities and lunch is the actual cost charged us by the track of $30.00 per person. Please make your check payable to Karl A. Folkens and give it Karl, Ron, Mary or Nell at Bristol, or mail it in if you prefer to P.O. Box 6139, Florence, SC 29502-6139. Our Canadian friends know what they're to do.

We're continuing to negotiate the cost of the suite which will depend upon the actual number of attendees, but we'll absorb that cost. Because of our arrangement with BMS, everyone is required to pay for lunch and the tour, but your only cost will be for this lunch and tour plus the number of laps you choose to drive (and whatever you choose to spend in the souvenir shop).

At the end of this e-mail is a list showing those who have already indicated they will attend this early event.

What to do now:

Please e-mail us now and let us know if :

You're on this list and do not want to participate in the early trip to Bristol.
You're not on this list, have changed your mind, and now want to participate (and have already registered for the BRBS).
You're on this list, will participate in the Bus Tour and Lunch but do not want to drive the track.

If you don't contact us and are on the list below, we have you down as attending the early event, paying for lunch and the tour, and driving the track.
~ ~ ~ ~
A very special thank-you to Hugh Tackett for helping us make this return to Bristol a reality this year and for opening his Garage Mahal for a tour!

For more details, visit the BRBS BMS webpage at http://www.brbs.org/bristol_speedway.asp

If you have any questions, drop us an e-mail.

See you soon!!

Karl & Ron

 

April 18th, 2011

Dear BRBS friends,

The new logo is up on the website and registration for Blue Ridge Boxster Summit 2011 is NOW OPEN! Click here for the Online Registration Form. Please register now if you're planning on attending so we can get a good final count early on.

The new logo pays homage to Diamondback, the 190-curves-in-12-miles route at Switzerland Inn, our new home. It will look VERY sharp on both the black and the white t-shirts, so make sure you order the t-shirts when you register for the event. And don't forget the t-shirts make great gifts for your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, siblings, and neighbors feeding the pets while you're at the event.

(If you can't attend the event, but still want to order t-shirts, enter -0- on the registration form at the top ("Number of Persons Attending") and place your order just for t-shirts.)

This is the last e-mail that will be going to the full group regarding this year's event. A duplicate e-mail is also being sent to the 2011 mailing list (sorry if you got a duplicate) to ensure everyone receives this e-mail.

We are experiencing unprecedented response to this year's event, and we're working on overflow lodging. We've added a link to Big Lynn Lodge, an Inn very close to Switzerland Inn, on the website under the Lodging tab. Mention you're with BRBS and your rate will be $20 off the regular rate (breakfast will be included in your room rate, but not dinner, as dinner is part of your event registration fee).

If you're staying at Switzerland Inn, call now to confirm your reservation. If you have no confirmed lodging lined up yet, call Big Lynn Lodge now (800-654-5232) to reserve your room at the Lodge. If you can't get in at either the Inn or the Lodge, and haven't been able to find any other suitable lodging nearby, please e-mail us and we'll do what we can to help out. There are a number of local cabin rentals available, and we can work with you to line one of those up for you.

Because of this new event location, we're still finalizing various plans, including the Thursday daytime optional drive/event and a possible Wednesday early-comers day trip. Information on those activities will be sent to the 2011 mailing list in a few weeks.

This year is already shaping up to be unlike any other BRBS. If you have any questions about registration or the event, drop us a note at planners@brbs.org. Hope to see you soon!

Karl and Ron

 

August 7th, 2010

Friends,

The Blue Ridge Boxster Summit started in 1999 in the Asheville area until moving to Blowing Rock two years later. The Green Park Inn offered up quite a "unique" experience the third year, and we've enjoyed the Meadowbrook Inn being our home base for the past nine years.

We strive to ensure that each event has something new while keeping in place that which has worked well in the past. We try to come up with new roads and places for the Fun Runs and new opportunities like Eagles Nest this year, while being mindful that just making sure you have a chance to rekindle old friendships and make new ones is at the heart of it all.

In our efforts to bring you new opportunities while remaining true to the core experience, we are pleased to announce to the entire BRBS community:

The Blue Ridge Boxster Summit is moving!

The Switzerland Inn in Little Switzerland, NC will be home for BRBS 13 to be held June 2-5, 2011. We're also planning an early day event, so be sure to also block out the 1st.

Why move? It's time for a change. Even though those of you who may only recently have joined us haven't experienced all the different roads we've explored in the past ten years in the Boone/Blowing Rock area, those who have been coming for years deserve a whole new section of the Parkway to explore. Little Switzerland offers that.

The participants in BRBS 2010 were given a taste of Little Switzerland during the recent Fun Run, and many drove Diamondback, described as "North Carolina's last alternate route" with more than 190 steep, climbing curves in just 12 miles loaded with switchbacks looping almost 360-degrees. The area gives us many more new roads to explore and places to see. And the Switzerland Inn fits us perfectly as we sought to get more people under one roof (well, there are many different roofs at the Inn!) and can accommodate nearly all of us with a wide range of rooming choices and rates in a mountain lodge setting. Plus, there's an expansive lawn overlooking the beautiful Smokies for the "Boxster Shine and Show" and Pedro's Garage, and a bar reminiscent of the Green Park Inn's bar!

Switzerland Inn offers many different types of rooms to meet each person's budget. There's even an 8 bedroom lodge where the individual rooms can be booked for only $69 a night for those wanting just a bed and a bathroom!

Go to www.switzerlandinn.com to learn more about the mountain inn and its room options, and then call 800-654-4026 or 828-765-2153 to make your reservation. We've negotiated room rates at $15 off the low season published nightly rates for each room, except for the $69 rate for the "motorcycle lodge" rooms which will remain at that rate. There's an additional $15 off per night for any night(s) before Thursday afternoon or after Saturday night. For example, if you come in Wednesday, your rate for that evening would be $30 off the low season published nightly rate.

To learn more about Diamondback, go to www.diamondbacknc.com where you can even reserve a motorcycle for next year's event!

If you're planning to come to BRBS 2011, please pre-register now at www.brbs.org. And watch the BRBS website for more details throughout the year.

Hope to see you next year!

Karl and Ron