26th National Corvette Convention
For those of you who were unable to attend the convention below is an account of what happened………although some names and exact details may have been omitted to protect the identity (and reputation) of those involved.
 Convention Day 3 – Time to Show ‘n’ Shine
Easter Sunday saw another early start for some……even the Easter bunny had to rush to do his rounds!!!
A perfect autumn day greeted everyone as they readied themselves….Easter eggs in hand….for the 9:30am departure to the Tanunda Oval for the Show ‘n’ Shine event. Some 75-80 vehicles positioned themselves on the oval to be inspected and judged by officials, other entrants and of course the admiring public.
Entrants then had plenty of time to wander around the oval checking out all of the cars or to pick up some advice from the guys at the Shannons Insurance and Mothers car care products stands. There was also club and convention merchandise available at our own stand.
The Show ‘n’ Shine event finished up shortly after 2:30pm and entrants had the rest of the day to either do their own thing or to take the opportunity to visit some other wineries in the area. The blue C6 convertible owned by Jan & Peter Cox from NSW was enjoying the ambience of the day so much that it didn’t want to leave! However our friendly local RAA rep Barry was able to get the problem sorted for some very happy customers.Sunday evening was the Gala Dinner which saw everyone meet in the Shiraz Room at the Novatel Barossa Resort. Dinner was a lavish affair with many of the ladies….and some of the blokes dressed to kill. A terrific dinner was put on by the staff at the Novatel as we enjoyed the evening’s entertainment. Sharon who gave us an interesting insight into Whiteline’s racing achievements the night before was back to share one of her other many talents. She gave us a moving solo singing performance of a wide range of different musical genres….there was everything from ABBA to Jimmy Barnes classics. Sharon also took the time to explain the background behind her involvement in Foundation Shine and the objectives of this charity organisation.
As the night progressed we came to the prize giving ceremony from the days Show ‘n’ Shine event where a number of local entrants managed to score an award. (Please note that due to the limited space available the full list of prize winners will be given in next month’s newsletter).
Dave Nitschke then showed us his auctioneering skills by putting a wide range of different items from posters to handbags under the hammer. A silent auction was also conducted, this involved those on each table writing down their highest bid for the table centrepiece (a mounted C7 car model), after many sideways glances the concealed bids were then returned to the officials to reveal the winner.
The night finished with the baton for the next convention being passed to representatives from the ‘Corvettes of Canberra’ club in the form of the perpetual trophy.