This year we chose a new location, Kingsport/Blountville, Tennessee as the base for our 3 day driving adventure. It's located near some amazing mountains and rivers setting the scene for some breathtaking drives through Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. As with all of our CMU events, we like to drive, and that's what we'll be doing. We will have drives each of the three days with plenty of stops and things to see. Add in the nighttime activities, and you have the most amazing classic Mini event in North America! But wait, there's more! This event will have a Hawaiian theme entitled Kalaiwa Wikiwiki Mauka, meaning, driving quickly towards the mountains. While we won't have the Hawaiian beaches, we will have mountains, water, and a lot of tacky tourist in full Hawaiian dress. If you were at the Hippie Mini 56 you will have an idea how much FUN this will be!

Note, we will be driving through the mountains during the peak (hopefully) of the Fall leaves changing colors. We won't see big Hawaiian waves (many waves from locals though), but we will see something you can't see in Hawaii, amazing colors everywhere.

While the days are going to be a lot of fun, once the sun sets the coconuts and hula skirts will be coming out! We will have a "Best dressed Hawaiian" and "Hawaiian tacky tourist" contests at the Friday night party! Start looking for your Hawaiian garb. The contest will be just before the showing of the International Mini Film Festival. If you haven't started to produce your award winning short film, get on it and have a chance to entertain, get famous around the world, and win some cash! Go HERE for the film festival info. Note the deadline for entries is September 1, 2016.

If you haven't been to a CMU event before, we do it differently; we like to drive/cruise a lot and see all around the beautiful area we're visiting. With this being a CMU event, you must be a member to enter a Mini. Membership is free! If you are one of the few that hasn't already joined, go to the join page and become one of the over 1,200 members! As with all of our events, this is for everybody, but all of the drives/cruises/anything is only for classic Minis and its variants produced from 1959-2000, no exceptions. (The period following "exceptions" is to end the sentence and to also say "period".) There's always room to ride in someone’s Mini if you come in something else. We don't leave anybody behind! Not even the couple coming all the way from Australia...assuming they bring the staff cool Australian gifts. But then I'm sure those coming from England won't be outdone by the Auzzies... It's a pride thing.

For those of you that don't know someone that has been to a CMU event to hear how amazing it is, the following should help you with your decision. But, beware, when you come to one you'll be counting down the days until the next one, and we only do it every year and a half!

MiniWorld Magazine - The Mini 53 - Here's the full printable story.
"Imagine a two-hour twisty cruise with 70-plus Minis, followed by white water rafting, then another unique twisty cruise... memories to last a lifetime. "

MiniWorld Magazine - The Mini 51 - Here's the full printable story.
"As a follow-up to the landmark Mini 50, CMU surpassed themselves with the Mini 51 "
"Everyone witnessed the truly unforgettable sight of the endless line of Classic Minis twisting through the mountain curves."

MiniWorld Magazine comments on our Mini 50 event.
"Many people who went said it was the best Mini event they'd ever attended."
"The event set a new standard for USA Mini meetings..."

Mini Magazine also comments on our Mini 50 event.
"... it raised the bar of what should be expected of a show in North America."
"... can't wait for the next CMU event!!"

If that's not enough, see our Mini 50 and Mini 51 stories!

Typical view at a CMU event, but you can't see the other 75 Minis in front of the Moke!

We always base our events at a campground with an affordable hotel nearby. There is nothing like the campground atmosphere for our nighttime activities and to start our drives. So far it has been KOA all the way. Great locations and great people. This KOA is the same... Unfortunately this one isn't as big as some of the others we have stayed at, so while there is plenty of room for tent campers and motor homes, there are not that many cabins. By the time you read this they could be gone as well. But don't despair about staying at a hotel as they are close and there are two to choose from, but book early!

Host Campground Kingsport KOA website This is once again a beautiful KOA with a very friendly and helpful staff. They are looking forward to seeing gaggles of Minis and making our event a success! Please note to be respectful to the property and KOA staff. That also means NO speeding. Call the KOA direct at 423-323-7790 to make reservations. They are giving us a 20% discount, so mention CMU. Do this ASAP before the tourists take your spot! The prices are: Primitive cabins $44, Motor home $45 (pull through $48), Tent basic $25, Tent with water and electric $30.

The International Mini Film Festival
Win some money and worldwide notoriety! $250 1st, $100 2nd, $50 for 3rd. If you don't finish in the top 3 you can still win $100 by just entering a video! There's even a $100 prize to go to the winners Mini club for a showing party! Start producing your video now and have it submitted by September 1, 2016. The videos will be seen and judged on the BIG screen during the Friday night party!
Go HERE for the information/rules.

Thank you Bob Cox for the GREAT artwork!!!

Hawaiian Contest!
During the Friday night party there will be some crazy people dressed in all forms of the Hawaiian theme, so let's have a contest! There will be three categories:
1. Best dressed Hawaiian - This would be anything a Hawaiian would wear (or not), the coconuts, grass skirts, and anything that doesn't fall under the next category.
2. Tacky tourist - So you have been wearing flowered shirts and shorts for many years and the only thing you got in return is some laughs? Now you can win a prize for that look. This is exactly what it sounds like, a tacky tourist that visits Hawaii and tries his/her best to fit in.
3. 16 and under - This category is a combination of the top two categories, but for those that are 16 years old and younger.
PRIZES: The prizes are surprizes, but you know we go all out when it comes to prizes!

Banner Contest!
Show your CMU spirit, win some $$$$, and have the honor that your banner will be the official club banner for MME 2017! We will have the banner contest during the Friday night party. There are two categories, homemade, and pro/printed. The winner of the homemade banner will receive a $100 Mini Sport USA gift certificate and the pro/printed banner will receive a $50 gift certificate. One of the winners will be held high and proud to represent CMU in the MME 2017 panoramic photo! Judging and category placement will be done by the CMU staff. You don't have to be present to win, just the banner has to be there.
RULES: The banner must be approximately 6' wide and 4' tall +/-. It must be made of something that can be folded/rolled to transport and not crease or fall apart (sheets are a good start.). The banner must have "Classic Minis United" featured BIG so it is very visible for the panoramic photo. No other sponsors/names/logos can be on the banner (small signature is fine). Other than that, be creative and have fun with it. Using the Hawaiian theme could score extra points as we would like to display all of the banners around the party area. If you can't make the event, please contact mike@classicminis.org for information to send it in before the event. Get creative and get on it! If you are bringing a banner, please bring it with you when you register.

Mini 57 event shirts.
CMU event shirts have become known around the world! Make sure you order yours in advance with your registration as there are minimal extras at the event. See the shirt design HERE.

Scavenger Hunt, nighttime!
Following the Thursday night ice cream cruise we'll have the famous nighttime scavenger hunt. Justin Handy did an amazing job setting up the last one, so we are thrilled he's going to set this one up! Bring some flashlights or torches!

Drives, drives, drives...
We are very lucky that one of our best Cruise Masters, Chuck Gaines, lives in the Kingsport area. He will be putting the drives together for all 3 days! When you see him, give him a BIG thank you!!!

Mini 57 on Facebook!
If you use FB, go HERE to join in the Mini 57 banter... Meet up with someone and travel together. Plan your Hula skirts, coconuts and Mini attire with the help of others. Yes, FB has some benefits!

Registration
Registration is now open! To avoid late fees it must be received by September 2nd, 2016. If you're late, you might also miss out on the shirts and dinner, get on it! Thank our sponsors and creative event staff for keeping the cost so low for such a monumental event! Go HERE to get the form to print, fill out, and mail in.

Schedule
HERE is the official schedule!

Don't miss the Hawaiian best dressed and tacky tourist contest!

Important: New to CMU events!
As many of you can imagine, when you get 75-100 Minis in a long line/cruise, things could happen. Due to the growing size of the event, we took a close look at safety. We concluded, to keep everybody informed at all times regarding road/traffic/Mini problems during the drives, 2-way radios are now mandatory. Below is an example of what we ran in to the last time in Cherokee. It went from clear to this fog around a blind corner.

If you don't have a radio with sub channels, you can rent one.  The rental of a club radio/charger is $15 for the event. The registration form will have a place to order the rental or to let us know that you have one. The club uses channel 7 sub 9. If you don't already have a radio and want to purchase one, we'll save you some research and give you the magic answer away from all of the misleading promises on the packages! It's all about power and all of the "affordable" radios have the same amount. So, here's the main difference to look for... You want a radio with GMRS channels as they are about twice as powerful as the basic FRS channels. Power is distance! Go to Amazon or Google and search for "GMRS Radio" and start shopping. Most come in a set, so split it with a Mini friend (make sure it has 2 chargers)! It's a safety issue and the cost of a radio is nothing compared to what could happen if you don't have one....... Please note that the radios are for this purpose only, no chatter, no "Oh look a chicken"!

Cruise groups!
We tried something new at the Mini 56, two drive groups. It was a HUGE success!!! Being at the rear of a 75 Mini line means you're almost always trying to catch up. But you put yourself back there so you could go slow... What to do?!?! We'll have two drive groups that do the exact route, the "Spirited" and the "Touring". There will be a Cruise Master to lead each group. The Spirited group will leave first and the Cruise Master of the Touring group will start directly behind the last Mini of the front group. The difference will be that the Touring Cruise Master will re-start the pace, a little slower. The time difference to the lunch break and then back to the camp should be around 15-30 minutes. This worked GREAT at the Mini 56 and solved so many problems, but you still have to pay attention and keep up with the Mini in front of you!

Supporters and Sponsors
If you would like to help make this event once again the biggest and best event, we could use your support. Simply put, the more money we raise, the more money we can spend on the event. We keep the entry costs down so everybody can afford it. We have a title sponsor (Mini Sport USA) to help make the event happen to our standards, but we always like to embellish and add to it. If you would like to support the Mini 57 with either cash or merchandise (for an auction or giveaways) please contact Mike Guido.

Thank you sponsors!
Their logos are links, visit them and see some great Mini stuff!.

See their 400hp AWD Mini!

Special thanks to:
Rhonnie Guido XOXO
Rob and Gail Woelfle
Cruise Master Chuck Gaines
Cruise Master Laurence Vooght
Scavenger Hunt Master Justin Handy
Jim Watson leaves no broken Mini behind!!
... and everybody else that's making this the BIGGEST and best North American, 3 day Mini adventure!