22nd Edition of British Car Festival is in the Books

Donna Cunningham at Registration

A year of planning along with the efforts of many people brought British Car Festival to its conclusion to almost universal praise. The show committee, ably led by chairman Michael King, put on one of the most successful shows in recent club history, verified by the largest entry list seen in a number of years.

The organizers knew that a hit was in the making when, at the Friday evening welcome party, 81 British car enthusiasts packed the historic Dahlgren Hall on the Faulkner State Community College campus in downtown Fairhope, Alabama. Friends who haven't seen each other since last year's event renewed acquaintances while enjoying a sumptuous barbeque dinner laid on by the club. Tables were filled and the diners eventually spilled outside into the delightful autumn evening to enjoy the savories and desserts brought by SABCC members. 

Some of the MGBs Present

No sooner than the remains of the welcome party had been cleared away, it was almost time to begin setting up the show field for the early arrivals the next morning. SABCC was quite fortunate to have the services of a professional engineer in designing the layout of the show field and creating drawings to help guide the placement of the main tent and other facilities needed on the site. 

As the first of the show participants arrived, they were split into two lines to meet the needs of those pre-registered and those registering on the day. Again, due to the excellent planning and experience of the registration committee, delays at the entry were held to a minimum. After passing the registration point, a souvenir photo was taken of the entrant's car backdropped with a red bus and a bevy of lovely ladies in antebellum costume representing the Baldwin County Dogwood Trail program.
  

 

A Young Showgoer Trying an MGTD on for Size

The parking committee wore high visibility vests silk screened with the club logo to help guide the entrants to their particular place on the field with a minimum of confusion. Again, planning and generous volunteers made parking almost pain-free and on-time.

This year's show theme was "Celebrating 50 Years of MGB" and there were 'Bs aplenty on the field. Separated into four classes reflecting the four generations of cars, America's favorite sports car made up almost a third of the total entries. The field was also populated with a fine selection of Triumphs from Spitfires and TR3s on through to the burly TR8.

We've Got Your T-Shirts Here! -Becky Kramer (L) and 
Linda Ross(R) Take Care of Business at BCF

BCF 2012 also had a full class of Morgans and a complete class of Sunbeam Tigers. Jaguar's honor was upheld by a tasty group of E-Types and XJ-Ss as well as a lone XJ saloon with remarkably low miles showing on the clock. There was a pair of Triumph motorcycles on hand to round out the "not normally seen here" corner of the field. 

Popular choice balloting began once a class assignment double check was completed and continued while door prizes were drawn and announced. As the vote counting took place, silent auction winners were announced much to the delight of the bidders, some of whom entered into a spirited bidding war for some of the more desirable prizes.

As the sun began its descent towards Mobile Bay, the trophies were awarded to the popular choice winners to much cheering and applause.

The Day's End

The trophies were presented to winners of the popular choice ballot, but everyone who brought a car to the event was a winner.  The lifeblood of the hobby is enthusiasts who keep these old cars alive and running. Every one of the cars on the show field defied the odds of survival to be there, carrying with them the care and attention continuously given to them over their long lives.  


The organizers could not have ordered a more perfect day - cloudless skies and abundant sunshine made the cars literally pop from the green lawn of the college campus. It was the sort of day a Chamber of Commerce would die for.

South Alabama British Car Club owes a great deal of thanks to the sponsors of the day, Faulkner State Community College, the enthusiasts who came so far to participate and especially the club members who cheerfully worked so hard to put forth a day of enjoyment for others.  

See you next year!