Ah, what a great day to be a MINI owner. The day dawned with spectacular sunshine and a breeze of the ocean. And the sight of nearly 300 MINIs lined up to join the Rise and Shine Rally. A few rounds of "shave-and-a-haircut, two bits" on MINI horns and we were off. A police escort ensured that all of us would be able to head out in style - and together - to the cheers of onlookers and even a few of the policemen. We had a beautiful drive winding up the Massachusetts coast, making our way in and out of cities and towns along the way. And everywhere we went, we got smiles, thumbs ups and reciprocal beeps -- not to mention a few surprised (dumbfound?) looks. Everyone made it to the Glouchester Fisherman's Memorial and then headed back to the Festival.
At the Festival itself, things were buzzing. We had so many MINIs, they had to open up the auxiliary lot! On the Autocross, everyone had a chance to run through the cone course test-driving their "next" MINI -- checking out whatever car they wanted. And carnival games, boot sales and concession stands kept everyone moving.
Providing the coolest vehicle on two wheels was stunt master, Jeff Lenosky with his Mountain Bike stunt show -- unbelievable.
Live music on the Rolling Stone stage provided the driving soundtrack throughout the day, and capped by a lively performance by Fountains of Wayne -- who performed a great set that included their well known hit "Stacy's Mom" and even squeezed in a little tribute to a few legendary Boston performers.
More festivities are planned for Sunday, along with the Owner Awards. Look for the results in the next post! 
TO SEE A BUNCH MORE GREAT MTTS BOSTON PHOTOS: Just check out our Official MINI Takes the States gallery on Flickr AND WE'D LOVE TO SEE YOUR PHOTOS OF THE EVENT TOO! If you have a Flickr account, you can join the MINI Takes the States 2008 - Boston Flickr group. Or, you can email shots (or send via your cell phone) to us at boston.photos@miniusa.com (limit of 5 photos per person)
Event Highlights
Copyright 2008