New England Triumphs at Faneuil Hall - Sep 26, 2009
Submitted by: Stan Foster and Debbie Christopher
For the second time this year a group of volunteers from New England Triumphs got up early to head into Boston to participate in another successful British car show organized by our friends at the Boston Area MG club. A special thanks to Kurt Steele at BAMG for the invitation and to the BAMG club for pulling off this series of shows at Faneuil Hall. This second outing took place on a chilly Sunday morning in September but our volunteers were not deterred as they traveled from as far south as the Cape and as far north as Burlington, VT to represent the club at this event.
The cars were staged along Merchants Row prior to the event.
NET brought 11 cars to occupy most of the cobblestone area between Faneuil Hall
and Quincy market just as we did in June. Our lineup included Ted Elzey (TR3), Michael Godley (TR4A),
Steve and Sue Lindquist (250), Frank Frett (TR6), Hugh and Caroline Cockrill (TR3), Chuck and Doreen Giorgio (TR6),
Stan Foster and Debbie Christopher(TR6),
Bob and Donna-Lynn Greene (TR6), Bill Richardson (TR6), Rob and Susan Lanza (Spitfire), Dave and MaryEllen Cox (Stag).
Despite the cold start the weather warmed up considerably and soon things got busy with many curious tourists and shoppers.
The interest in the cars was considerable. We were parked next to one of the main walkways into the area
and it was amusing to watch people stop dead in their tracks when they saw our collection of Triumphs
sparkling in the sunshine. For many it was an opportunity to get a picture and to relive happy times
when they owned a Triumph. One couple in particular had a red TR6 when they were dating back in the 1970s
and we enjoyed chatting with them and taking pictures.
Speaking of pictures we have to mention Bill Richardson who is not only a NET member but also a professional Santa.
He graciously posed for photos with kids of all ages who were surprised to discover that during the warmer months,
Santa drives a Triumph. We were parked next to Bill and enjoyed seeing the surprised looks as people
spotted him next to his beautiful red TR6. We joked that his car ought to have
a bumper sticker reading "My other car is a sleigh"!
For this show the BAMG folks organized a People's Choice award as a way to further engage the visitors and the exhibitors. That added another element of interest for club members as they lobbied for votes. Chuck and Doreen Giorgio proved to be masters at this and soon were declared the well deserved winner with their immaculate TR6.
This was the last Faneuil Hall show for 2009. Kurt Steele is looking forward to repeating this event in 2010 and may be able to offer NET a dedicated area to show our cars and promote our hobby and our club. Watch out for an invitation to a Faneuil Hall event in 2010 and maybe you will get to park next to Santa!
There are more photos from this event in the photo gallery.