Our Annual Tickleberry Run

This  April we had good weather and a good turn out of Miatas for this season opener. 16 cars took part in all or most of the day. After picking up a few Miatas in Penticton, Matt led us down the east side of Skaha Lake and then worked his way south travelling as many off-highway road as possible to our lunch destination in Osoyoos. After lunch a small group, apparently led by Dutch, took a quick run up to the top of the Anarchist Summit. Great views and curves!
Heading north again we stopped at the Golden Mile Cellars Winery. The building is a replica of a castle and can be seen from the highway on the west side. This stop was arranged by our club members, Harry & Nancy Serwo of Penticton. The owners, Mick & Pam Luckhurst were expecting us and treated us to a tour and wine tasting. I have had several wine tours over the years, but this was the most informative as Mick took the time to explain the many challenges facing the estate wine business.    This is not your average winery that produces quantity over quality, their goal is to produce a quality wine using all the technology available. You can check them out at: www.goldenmilecellars.com.
On our way home there had to be a stop at Tickleberries! It was a fun day and a good spring break-in for the cars. The round trip from Vernon was exactly 400 kilometres!

Autocross at the brick Parking Lot

Three events under our belts already this season. Matt has organized a great set of novice courses. They have been set up to help both the novice and more experienced drivers learn and practice different driving skills each week. Approximately 22 to 29 drivers each week with over half being Miatas! Anyone interested in coming out either to try the course or to watch, you can find all the information on our club website and forum at: http://okmiataclub.bizhat.com.
Autocross events are held every Thursday this summer at the Brick parking lot in north Kelowna.  Registration at 5-5:30 with racing starting at 6:00pm.

April Club Meeting

Last months meeting was at my place in Vernon. A good number of members came up from Kelowna as a group - Pete came in from Summerland and Lex even made the drive up from Penticton! Any excuse for a Miata run. We have finalized most of the items for the Sun Run this year. The Sun Run information and registration forms are all available on our website. I hope we have a good turn out of members attending this event. It is a great way to meet many interesting Miataphiles from al over the western US and Canada.
We will not be having a meeting this month because of the Sun Run. We will let you know about June's meeting as soon as it is organized. 

Club Events

Some suggestions for trips this summer are as follows:
1. "A return to Nakusp Hot Springs" - this was a popular run last year and many members have asked if  it can organized again.
2. "South across the border"  - Cross at Nighthawk and drive east through Washington state to cross again at Midway.  Possibly an overnight (Camping?) at Christina Lake.  Return to Kelowna on Highway 3 the following day.
3. "Cariboo or Bust" -  A two or three day Cariboo trip.  Travel up the north Thompson to Little Fort and over the plateau to 100 Mile House and area.  Return via Lilloett, Lyton and Ashcroft.  Maybe even as far north as Barkerville?
4. "Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival" - August 13 or 14th.  Check out the website:  http://www.rootsandblues.ca/
This run is a one day morning event.  If you don't wish to attend the festival you can go on from there to enjoy some of the many other attractions/drives of the Shuswap area.  Those attending the Festival will probably not be heading home till late in the evening.  Take a look at the website to see the excellent talent that will be performing. It is truly a fantastic music festival.

Topless Sun Run 2005

There is still limited room if you haven't registered yet.  This will be a great event as always. Below is an overview of the weekend from Matt:

Okanagan Valley Topless Sun Run - May 27-29/05. Here is the official schedule for the weekend. This schedule is subject to change with no notice.

May 26: Thursday
- 5:00-8 pm Autocross: Unfortunately we will not be able to hold the autocross on Friday night as we had originally hoped. We can however still have everyone join us on the Thursday evening before for our regularly scheduled autocrosses. Same place and time, just a day earlier. registration begins at 5:00 pm. Racing starts at 6:00 pm. Loaner helmets are available. Located at McCurdy Corner on Hwy 97 and McCurdy Rd, in the parking lot for The Brick, Freddie’s Brew Pub and the Grand 10 Theatre. (Next Door to Malibu Grand Prix.) Not only Miata entrants will participate in Autocross. Be early if you plan to race. Cost is $35/driver.

May 27: Friday
- 2:00-8:30 PM: Drive Thru Tent Registration: in the rear parking lot of the Best Western Hotel. Look for the tent and get in line. You must register in your Miata. There is a photo op at the tent. Remember this is a Miata only event. No OTM’s
-5:00 pm until 7:00 pm : I am pleased to announce that the Friday Night Miata Mingle will still proceed. Instead of taking place at McCurdy Corner it will take place in the rear parking lot of the hotel from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm. The hotel will be providing BBQ'd smokies for about $2.50 and soft drinks for $1 in the parking lot. Even if you are not registered at the hotel please join us during this time. Even if you're too tired to join us, please at least park your car out there for others to see.
-8:30 pm – 11:00 pm Old Tyme Wine & Cheese: in the Atrium inside the courtyard of the Best Western. Turn of the last century ( early 1900's ), apparel: bathing suits, cloths, golf outfits, night clothes, parasols, etc. Award for the best costume.

May 28: Saturday
- 9:30 am Saturday Sun Run: leaves from the rear parking lot of the Best Western Hotel. Our route this year takes us to Vernon via Hwy 97, with a photo op at the Kalamalka Lake Lookout, (same as first year), then out to Westside Road for a north - south drive down to the Fintry Estate for an old fashioned box lunch and photo op. At Fintry we will have a relaxing afternoon of games, where you get to win our card game. If you participate you get one card, win & get two cards, etc. The rest of the afternoon will have us relax & eventually have a non-structured drive back to the hotel at your leisure.
- 6:00 pm - closing Mazda Canada Banquet: in the atrium inside the courtyard of the Best Western Hotel. Fantastic meal like last year.

May 29: Sunday
- 10:00 am Sunday Run: leaves from the rear parking lot of the Best Western Hotel. We will be heading south down Hwy 97 to Okanagan Falls, via some of the areas fabulous back roads. We will have lunch at the Legion next to Centennial Park. Today’s lunch is included in your registration to avoid the problem we had last year. We will do a head count on Friday night. After lunch we will travel around the area on some of the best roads in BC. Ending up with the drive back to Kelowna. If you are interested some of our membership will head to Freddie’s Brew Pub at McCurdy Corner (the Friday night Autocross & Mingle location) to relax for the evening.