[s-cars] //SFest 2005 highlights - long

[pkrasusky@ups.com]

Morning all-

Five days of post-//SFest-decompression have finally summoned a synapse
or three to provide fodder for an //SFest recap.  What is //SFest?  Wow
there's a lot to tell.

Near 40 UrS cars were merely the curtains that surrounded us and
provided backdrop to great people having a greater time.  Heck I don't
think I talked much //S-car-dom all weekend really.  //SFest encompasses
you with endless others as sictwisted as you, more twisted even.
Solstice is provided knowing you are not alone in your insanity (hey now
my wife sees she could always have it worse!).

Staffers and early arrivals departed work Fri. and descended upon Bys'
residence again in Granby, CT.  Jeff Postupack arrived from NH with road
crew to assist with this year's multimedia and entertainment setup just
as Bob Spacesuit Rossato completed engineering tweaks to his outdoor
shower creation.  I arrived impressed with Jim Pasqualoni from Maine,
followed shortly after with Jim Norris in the freshly waxed //SFest keg
transporter Silverado.  Vincent Fregac pulls up with every bug from
Montreal to CT (attempting to hide the fact he has bumper grilles this
year).  Moments later Bill Baloney Mahoney pulls in fresh from
Chicago...  having reconn'ed Keith topdown-Miata Maddock from Michigan
somewhere in Ohio, and oh picking up Joe Evoless Pizzimenti somewhere in
NY en-route.  

The Olde Speckled Hen and Smuttynose IPA were tapped and there was much
rejoicing.

//SFest has begun.

We awoke to sunrise facing a textbook perfect summer's morning.  We were
ready.  Build it and you will come.  And you did.  10:00 and the
entrance tent began passing out the //SFest 2005 logo'd tire pressure
gauges and //SFest - Shokan logo'd steins to the first 50 to join us.
Baloney hangs the checker flag banner for me, saying  'people will see
it and feel racy'.  Bwhahaha.

Pasqualoni ground guided my parking of each of you, by eleven the
display was humming along (now I think you see why I park everyone).
Little did the crowd know Jim Smith had snuck up the back entrance for
son Aaron to race off the trailer in the Sprongl raced vintage A2.  I
asked Aaron to run it up the back drive for you all 'as loud and quick
as you dare on a cold motor'...  the cacophony of racuous cylinders
ripping through //SFest was quite the aural treat for us Aaron..
thanks!

Everyone arrived in a steady stream nice and early, highlighted @ 1:30
with the dramatic entrance of Brian Purdy's GT3 and Jeff Purdy's 996tt,
flanked appropriately by Keith's 993 C4S all the way up from Virginia.
Then blasts in...  Brian Werstak in the titanium forged wheel'd GT2.  Oh
momma...  Festivus Maximus was reached around 2:30 and Jim and I could
finally //Fest.  Around us by now were a Lotus Elise, 3 MB 500E's (from
VA and NJ to boot), a pair of 911SCs with a Boxster, Frank Stadmeyer's
R32, Mike Platt & Company at their fourth //SFest... in a shiny black
Omni GLHS, a pair 'o UrQs, Alexander Van Gerbig's awesome 20V B3, a V8,
Tom Pollock's B5, a B6, Scott Allerheiligen in an Audi of Nashua B7
Avant, a TT with Toureg combo, a 951 and an S2 oh and my wife's ML of
course.  

Festivus Maximus fersure.

My client with the Ferraris was to arrive but didn't, nor Bob 'drop the
ball' D'Amato in the Cosworth Escort.  Lots of new faces this year,
great to meet so many more of you.  Everyone fits right in and is lots
of fun regardless of circumstance, and that is amazing.  A handful of
4-time //Festers there too, pretty impressive is Baloney from Chicago.
And Keith M. and Tim Leonard now 2x from Michigan!  The Colorado Mafia
even flew in espionage / surveillance personnel (via Monterey CA to
elude our attention)...  Mikey Pederson, you are a gamer's gamer.  Kudos
my friend, hope our efforts to brainwash you with sudz hamper any
proprietary information pilfering from us CTers.  Very cool to 'meet'
you finally! 

Anywayz...  

_You_guys_area_all_nutz_!!!

With the raffle table overflowing with a significant depth and breadth
of schwag for all, we began proceedings around 5:00.  The PA system was
a huge score here Posto!  We must share our ***most sincere
appreciation*** with all of our sponsors, including SJM, Shokan,
NEA/TJM, Wagner Audi (go Tom P.), Sports Car Workshop, Force 5, Ronal,
Stromung, and manymanymany other generous individuals for all of their
phenomenal donations - forgive me for who I missed.  And for Pasqualoni
/ Posto's efforts in accumulating them.  Most won at least something,
ranging from Audi playing cards to //SFest polo shirts (go Jimmy
Norris), hats, various used replacement C4 parts, a Mance strut bar, and
a ceramic coated AAN intake manifold.

Dusk nears and begins to lull all into a false sense of normalcy (what's
normal @ //SFest?)...  only to have the serenity *explode* into 75
cylinders of bristling UrQuattro.  Fifteen of the 22 UrQ Preservation
Group's attendees @ Gary Brown's event across CT journeyed over to us in
full caravan.  UrQ's lined centerfield, from Florida to Tennessee to
Virginia to Colorado to Maine, including the only known '86 imported.
Waaaay cool guys thanks for the invasion Gary.  Also accompanying were
Uncle Bob 'let's go tuna fishing on the way there' Pastore, Serge
'somehow Maacoavant UrS is a UrQ' Filanovsky, and Tom Saltino from
Georgia in his ubersexy UrS4 to UrS6 conversion.  Great seeing you again
Tommyboy, you are truly caraaaazy.  Phil Ackley's stunning 20valve'd UrQ
from VA drew quite the crowed around the engine bay.  

Sunset arrived and we disrupted Pasqualoni's day's worth of moodmusic to
feature the inaugural LAF Outdoor //SFest Theater (trademark pending).
Projected upon a large screen we watched a fine selection of in-car
Walter Rohrl footage around der Nordschlief in Porsches (go Super
Keith), and some Steamboat WDS footage.  The bonfire was lit and then
'the fog' started rolling in so beyond this gets fuzzy.  I have faint
recollection of random TEN MILLION CANDLE POWER implementation with
Serge, um ooops.  Most of us stumbled our way into tent city by 2 a.m.
We awoke to drizzle Sunday a.m. and nearly 20 cars still there, lotsa
camping.  

Packed up, showered, a now fourth //SFest an overwhelming success.
Success not remotely possible without Jeff Postupack... my left arm.
Jim Pasqualoni...  my right.  Bob Rossato...  my, um, Rossato...
everyone needs one a Rossato I tell ya.  For this we got Bob a set of
Richard Hoffman rotor hats and an attempt to end Rossatoing parts once
and for all.  More importantly folks...  we achieved success not
possible without each of you making such effort to contribute to our
madness by COMING.  Yes methinks we're getting good at this.  Scary.

I'll conclude with a Baloneyquote:  "even if Bys sells the place we
should just show up next year anyway".  Um, I'm guessing that might be
bad.  I fear Vincent's recent suggestion will prove true that I'll deny
another //SFest for 9 more months then plan for 3 then //SFest 2006 here
we come.  If it does it will likely be held in Coventry, CT.  Don't
ask...  but...  do stay tuned for more things Coventry.

//SFest.  Those who have know.

-Paul what have I started K.

ps.  be sure to thank JEN for letting me be me, and for bringing all my
kiddies by briefly to show off...