The 54th annual Gathering of the Faithful was scheduled to be held April 17 - 19, 2020, at the Mission Inn, Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. This, sadly, is not a report of an enjoyable car event, as so many of the posts in this blog document. It is a report of what should have been a great event that was forced to cancel due to the Corona Virus Pandemic. There is no way of predicting, but car event cancellations may become the norm for 2020.
The Classic MG Club of Orlando, the founder of this event in 1967, was the hosting organization. Members had been working for over a year to plan the details of this event. A wide variety of ativities had been planned for the weekend event, more than could fit in anyone's calendar. There were workshops, dinners, raffles, silent auction, and a car show. A big car show. Over 100 MGs were registered 6 weeks before the event - the time that the decision had to be made for canceling the event.
The most anticipated activities at the GOF South were the rallyes and drives. Multiple drives. One of which was a drive to a mountain top. Yes, a mountain top . . . in Florida. Sugar Loaf Mountain to be specific. Well, in fact, two rallyes to the mountain top. So many had signed up for the rallye that two different routes had to be planned to reduce the size of the group on the road and to lower head count at the possible restaurants scheduled for lunch. The Rallye de Montagne, with a logo appropriated from the famous French Monte Carlo Rallye, was to be a highlight of the weekend.
.
Not far from Howey-in-the-Hills is the quaint town of Mt. Dora. It has become a town of many, quality restaurants and interesting shops. A drive, the Mt. Dora Meander, was mapped out with appropriate rallye-type instructions to take the MGs and their owners from the Mission Inn to enjoy a lunch at the restaurant of their choice. The route home passed through the neighboring city of Tavares, also known as the seaplane city, since they have a seaplane port on the lake right downtown. A full afternoon of driving your MG on back roads, enjoying a meal with your friends, and seeing new sights was on tap.
Many rallyes and drives were planned, more than could fit into the weekend. There was a suggestion offered that participants arrive on Thursday, a day before the official opening of the GOF South, to make one of the rallyes during the extended stay. A new event, the Tweed Drive, a drive to a British restaurant with participants all dressed in tweed or in their British Finest. This event was patterned after bicycling events that have been held across the globe. The links below are to videos of Tweed Runs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qlU7y-LHqc
https://vimeo.com/252362547
There was a drive to the Yalaha Bakery, a popular German bakery and beer garden. Who wouldn't enjoy that? As participants left the GOF South to return home, multiple blueberry farms were mapped out to brake up the drive, enjoy picking blueberries with MG friends, and have some delicious, healthy treats.
Disappointed. As are many who have faced canceled events. There is some hope as we look to the future. GOF South Mk 55, presented by the MG Classics of Jacksonville, is scheduled for April 2021, to be held in Gainesville, Florida. And, the Classic MG Club of Orlando plans to return to Howey-in-the-Hills in 2022. Seems so far into the future.
