About this event
National Capital Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America is please to announce details for our 2024 Annual Meeting & Club Picnic!
Date: Sunday, May 19th, 2024
Time: 9 am to 3 pm
Location: Smokey Glen Farm
16395 Riffle Ford Rd (The Barn area)
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
The Barn area at Smokey Glen is the perfect venue to showcase our cars, enjoy great BBQ, win prizes and have some fun amongst family and friends!
Our picnic at Smokey Glen, combined with club member's cars on display, will be an amazing sight. This family-friendly event will be open all day to enjoy cars again with fellow car enthusiasts. We'll have a huge pavillion that can hold up to 300 people and provides shade, a place for all food and drinks to be served, and plenty of room to spread out and enjoy a day with family and friends. Unfortunately, Smokey Glen does NOT allow pets (service animals OK w/ proper documentation).
Menu: Charcoal cooked chicken, pit beef, brats, macaroni & cheese, and more!
Alcohol: Professionally served beer and wine is included!
Activities: Playground, softball diamond, volleyball courts, basketball area, horseshoe pits, tetherball, miniature golf course, corn hole and more!
People's Choice Car Show: Categories TBD, but we will have prizes for a few winners!
Back for another year: Our photobooth was a huge hit last year! Take pics with fellow friends with some cool car-related backgrounds; they print on-the-spot and also sent via text immediately. Also, for Formula 1 fans, that day also happens to be the Italian Grand Prix, so we'll have a TV to watch all the action at Imola!
Guest Speakers:
James Chew: Still Crazy After All These Years- Sixty Years of Being Immersed in the Auto Market
From his father bringing him along for trips to the local auto parts store to developing marketing campaigns and products for the major automakers, James Chew has been immersed in the auto ecosystem for over sixty years. During those sixty years, he “hung out” around service stations and car dealer service departments, was in high school auto shop, established “pen pal” relationships with Chrysler executives (most notably Bob Lutz), earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a Master’s degree in systems management, was a product marketing consultant for the Dodge Division of Chrysler, was a product development consultant for the Pontiac Division of GM, led the development of the enabling material for large format li-ion batteries (which is why we have HEVs and EVs today), worked for major auto supplier, visited the BMW R&D labs, started the automotive section for his then local newspaper, has written for Roundel and is a regular contributor of car reviews to the derBayerische, and was involved with the Dodge North American Touring Cup Championship Team, the GM front wheel drive drag racing team, and the Exide Roush Racing Winston Cup NASCAR team. And by the way, he has a day job.
Steve Saxty
Author Steve Saxty will be giving a talk featuring highlights from his recently released “BMW Behind the Scenes". Roundel Magazine's review of his new book set said, “My highest recommendation, you must own these books. In case I haven’t been clear: These are the best books on BMW that have ever been written.”
Steve will have copies available on the day with a special show price of 10 percent discount and – free for all – a set of posters for you to frame and keep. He spent 2½ years visiting the design team in Munich to bring back hundreds of untold stories and unseen BMWs that he will be sharing. You can see more about his books here www.stevesaxty.com/bmw
Tentative Agenda:
9am: Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Watch Party
10am: Cars & Coffee @ The Barn show field
12pm: BBQ Lunch @ The Barn
1pm: Agenda Items, guest speaker, and prize raffles @ The Barn
Event Sponsors & Giveaways
GRAND PRIZE: One-Day M Club Day at the Greer, SC BMW Performance Center
1ST PLACE PRIZE: Buy 2 tires, get 2 FREE tires! Courtesy of Radial Tire
As usual, we will have some great giveaways, including plenty of BMW swag! Courtesy of BMW of Silver Spring
Registration Pricing:
Regular (April 1st- May 10th): $65/adult, $45/child age 5-11
Late (May 11th-19th): $80/adult, $60/child age 5-11
Due to contractual obligations, we need to provide Smokey Glen Farm a final headcount by 5:00 pm on Friday, May 10th. Please sign up NOW to guarantee your spot! Registration is limited to first 150 people that sign up.