The BCSTARS Section is very pleased to say that we were able to hold our first in-person event for the 2022 driving season. While we sat outside, under a heater for some lucky members who were early arrivers, and it comes on the heals this week of a relaxation of some of our Provincial health restriction. We can now have larger group numbers and less restrictions as health orders that limited what we could do for Covid protection have been relaxed. It was a chilly 2-3 degree Celsius (roughly 35 degrees Fahrenheit) morning as we assembled at the Starbucks location on 1980A Como Lake Road in Coquitlam BC, at 8:30 AM. The Section plans to hold such an event on the 3rd Sunday of each month, rain or shine at this location so put this in your calendars for the future. We hope to gather for a couple of hours or so it shouldn’t be too time consuming out of your Sunday. Today we were there for just a bit less than 2 hours, depending when you got there. The dominant car present was not surprising; the various iterations of the 107’S. We had at least one SL500, a SL 550 (Mine), a late model ML, and a W202 C280. The Section is actively searching for a location for our premier event, our annual Show & Shine. Prior to Covid limitations we held this over the Labour Day weekend and consistently attracted over 100 cars. We had a great venue in a park on North Vancouver’s waterfront with a spectacular view of downtown Vancouver and Stanley Park to name just 2 viewpoints. Local and more distant drives are also being developed as well. We also support the events on Vancouver Island and there is typically a Regional Event in the Seattle that draws cars from across Washington, Oregon, possibly Idaho, and we have prior to Covid supported it as well. If the border regulations ever get relaxed for short trips, this might become a viable option for us. Keep your eyes and ears open as things seem to be constantly changing both at the Provincial and Federal level as it relates to Covid rules/regulation changes. We had a mixture of veteran members of the Club having been there decades as well as others who have joined in the last 5~10 years like myself, and a couple of people who are brand new to the MBCA. One of these members is also a proud owner of a Morgan car which we might get to see one nice day. There is nothing like seeing each other face-to-face in my opinion. Things like Zoom are great as replacements in time of need such as what we all have been through, or for business type settings rather than flying people all over the place. I guess finding the right balance will be the key. - Jeff Shindler - MBCA Regional Director - Pacific Northwest
