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Monday, November 03, 2008 Dave's Drive by Dave Raum (November 2008) By OVRPCA Webmaster @ 6:36 PM :: 254 Views :: 0 Comments :: :: Dave's Drive   Many of you are aware that OVR won the bid to put on the Porsche Escape national weekend event for 2009, but in case you aren’t let me fill you in. The theme for the event is “Escape to the Birthplace of Aviation” and the dates are Thursday, October 1st through Sunday, October 4th, 2009. As Dayton, Ohio is the home of Orville and Wilbur Wright and the National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF) all activities will be centered there. The Porsche Escape weekend began about five years ago when PCA decided to try a low-key event on the opposite side of the country from where Parade was held. The Escape weekend would be held sometime later in the summer or fall after Parade was over. It was to be a closer alternative for those who didn’t want to attend a Parade on the other side of the country. As Parade is a very competitive week of activities such as the concours, TSD rally, autocross, and tech competition, Escape was to be a non-competitive weekend with scenic road tours, sight-seeing at local attractions, and a low key car show with sponsors and peoples choice awards. OVR was approached by Roy Wilkinson, our Zone 4 Representative, to put on a bid for the Escape event for 2009 late last year. Kathie Hunter and Walter Chin graciously volunteered to be co-chairs of the event. A small planning committee was formed and a presentation wrapped around the ‘Birthplace of Aviation’ theme was developed. Kathie and Walter went to Parade this year in Charlotte, North Carolina to make a presentation for our bid. We won the bid based on their presentation and the pre-planning that had been done by the committee. Kathie and Walter were able to lay out a day-by-day list of events and venues which “wowed” the Zone Representatives who decided on who would win the bid. At the time I am writing this column the final choice of the host hotel has been narrowed to two and the selection will have been made and the contract signed by the time you read this. The activities have all been selected and the venues for the show and shine, reception, and dinners finalized. Each day will have a “marquee” activity. There will be road tours each day for attendees to choose from as well as destina-tion drives to local attractions. Optional activities include visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Springfield, Ohio, Wright-B Flyer flights, hot air balloon rides, glider plane rides, Yellow Springs and Young’s Dairy tour, Clifty Falls and antique and outlet mall shopping. Thursday will feature a Covered Bridge Tour and a welcome social at the host hotel that evening. Friday will feature behind-the-scenes tours at the NMUSAF where attendees will be able to see actual restoration work being performed on planes being readied for exhibit. The America’s Packard Museum with its fine selection of vintage Packards is located in a restored Packard dealership in downtown Dayton will be the venue for Friday’s reception. Saturday’s main event will be the Aviation Trail Tour, which will visit the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center, the Aviation Trail Parachute Museum, the Wright Cycle Company store, the Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center, and the Wright Memorial. An optional lunch will be at the Quaker Steak & Lube before attendees head to the NMUSAF for tours of the Main Museum, the Experimental Aircraft, or Presidential Aircraft tours. The Saturday evening banquet will be held at John Dixon’s Taj Ma Garaj Porsche Museum. Attendees will be able to stroll among John’s fine collection of Porsches and memorabilia during the cocktail hour and after dinner and stay to dance to the Fries Band. Sunday will feature a Show & Shine car show at the Carillon Park with the Porsches nestled among the restored turn-of-the-century buildings in Carillon Village. The closing ceremony will follow lunch and the awards presentation for the Show & Shine. You can see that the Escape committee has done a lot of planning to make this a memorable event and to showcase our region. Please consider volunteering to make this a success. You can contact Kathie Hunter, Walter Chin or me via email or phone, all of which are listed in the front of the BP. We need volunteers for hospitality, reception, parking, road tour leaders, etc. Stay tuned to the BP or our website for more information on “Escape to the Birthplace of Aviation.” Enjoy the ride!

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