Encounter 2011

Encounter 2011

Encounter 2011: Healeys in Paradise

Registration Form Encounter 2011

Schedule of Events

Encounter 2011 planning is well underway. We have passed the 30 registrations mark, not bad for so early in the year. Reservations at the hotel are going well also, and the lower priced rooms are going the fastest. Book early for the best selection. The Wednesday dinner train has a limit of 86 participants, and we are about halfway there already. If you want to ride the dinner train, I suggest you register early.

We have several folks who will be attending their first Encounter this year. Those of us who have been at it a long time know what to expect, but here are some highlights:

• Encounter starts Wednesday night with a ride on the Strasburg railroad. This is a dinner train, leaving from the station just a few miles from the hotel. The train returns to the same spot at the end of the dinner.
• Thursday morning the rallye is held – a test of skill and coordination of driver and navigator to negotiate a route using clues from an instruction sheet. Sometimes you answer questions, sometimes you have to meet certain times, there is always some kind of gimmick to determine the winner.
• After the rallye, the hospitality room opens, serving beer, wine, sodas, water, and snacks. Encounter registrants are welcome to stop in and socialize and get refreshments any time.
• The regalia room opens Thursday, with sales of Healey related apparel and other items. The chinese auction is in the regalia room, where you drop tickets into bins placed by prizes that are usually car related and have been donated by event sponsors. The tickets are then drawn on Saturday for the prizes. You can enter as often as you like for each of the individual items.
• There are tech sessions on Thursday, one for kids and one for adults. Subjects vary, some car related, some not.
• Thursday night is the charity auction. Wine and Cheese refreshments will be served by the club while attendees bid on items donated. The proceeds go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
• Friday is the gymkhana races in the parking lot. A course marked by orange plastic cones is navigated by drivers of various skills and cars in various states of tune. Cars are divided into classes such as stock and modified big Healey, Sprite and others, and compete in their class for the fastest time around the course.
• Regalia and hospitality are open Friday too, but hospitality does not serve alcohol until after the driving events are over. Safety first! There will also be tech sessions for the adults and a scavenger hunt for the kids. One of the tech sessions is a presentation about the Amish who live in the area.
• Friday evening is the valve cover races. Contestants decorate a valve cover from a Healey engine and place it on some sort of chassis to roll down a ramp in a contest of straight and true travel and speed. If you can stay on the track and be faster than the competition, you can win. There are adult and kids classes for this event – always an entertaining event.
• Friday at dinnertime is the Luau. The hotel’s chef is from Hawaii and will be roasting a pig for the event. Make sure you wear your favorite Hawaiian shirt and join the festivities.
• Saturday is the Funkhana, where teams of driver and navigator drive through a course performing various feats of skill and sometimes silliness. The one who completes the course in the shortest time wins.
• Regalia and hospitality are open Saturday of course! This is also the location of the photo / model / handicraft competition. Artists enter photos, models and other Healey related crafts to be voted on by popular ballot in conjunction with the car show. Trophies are awarded to the winners.
• Saturday is the popular car show, shine up your Healey and line it up with others like it to see how it compares. Winner is chosen by ballots filled out by the Encounter attendees.
• Saturday night is the awards banquet. Speeches will be given, winners will be revealed, trophies will be awarded to the winners of the events. The location for Encounter 2012 will also be announced.

This is quite a weekend of things to do. Now that you know what it is about, hope to see you there!