September in Stowe, Vermont is amazing, particularly when 500+ classic British vehicles gather to enjoy the beauty of all the marques in one place. Now in its 33rd year, the brainchild of Mike Gaetano and Chris Frances, the event brings cars and their owners from New England, Canada and even further abroad. This year’s event was particularly special in that several of our South Florida Jaguar Club members made the trip to Stowe this year. Newbies George Hervert, and Warren and Sandra Aplin joined Invasion veterans Chris and Lesley Karentz for several days of fun and frolic. For those of us who arrived a few days early, the drive down old 100 still contains some of the most beautiful scenery in Vermont. Stop at the Vermont Country Store in Weston to partake of some local cheese, enjoy the beginning of fall foliage and drive through Vermont towns that have stood the test of time. The second day, starting from Barre into New Hampshire, finding Route 112 down to Quechee Gorge and Woodstock is a memorable road trip.
Friday night’s block party on Main Street brought out the cars and the partiers. Great to see the Jaguar Association of New England’s Tom, John and “Don” Brady and their astounding XK120s, Lloyd and Cathy Besaw with their fully restored 1978 MGB, Ray and Diane Crook along with their sweet children and grandkids. Even collector extraordinaire Guy Lewis made the trip from South Florida! The weather couldn’t have been more picture perfect, with slightly foggy mornings giving way to sunny days in the mid 70’s.
It was great catching up with Marcia and Jerry LeBant, fresh from Pebble Beach who brought their full array of tools, manuals and other automobilia for sale under the vendor tent. Of course, our own British Marque Faith and Bruce were on the field, with many emotional visitors in utter dismay over our beloved British Marque coming to and end in 2025. Please say it ain’t so.
The main event on Saturday brought out some amazing vehicles. In the concours section, there was a spectacular, royal blue Mark IV Drophead, a 1909 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud (ultimately named best of show) and some very fine E-Types. Amidst the backdrop of the Green Mountains, the lineups of MGs, Triumphs and Jaguars were very impressive. There were a couple of Aston Martins, a large collection of Land Rovers and everything in between. It was inspiring to see the number of younger people (eg. Under 40) both showing and visiting the event. Sunday’s Celebration of Colors was fun, with the same British cars lined up by color.
Alas, the British Invasion was over far too fast. We always look forward to this event as a highlight of the year, and then it’s over. See you next year Stowe!
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